Issue 49 / October 2014

FREE 

Issue 49 

October 2014 

Gulf by Jack McVann 

Gulf 

Tear Talk 

Amique 

Peaking Lights 

Liverpool Music 

Week Pullout

WEDS 17 SEPT 

12PM £5 ADV 

LASER QUEST 

ARTS CLUB 

TAKEOVER 

THURS 18 SEPT 

7PM £5 ADV 

LOUIS BERRY 

FRI 19 SEPT 

11PM 18+ FROM £4 

PROPAGANDA 

FT. PIGEON 

DETECTIVES LIVE 

FRI 19 SEPT 

7PM £6 ADV 

BUNK BED 

SAT 20 SEPT 

7PM £6 ADV 

SPARE ROOM 

SAT 20 SEPT 

11PM 18+ 

CHIBUKU 

RE-OPENING PARTY 

FT. BICEP, SKREAM, 

BEN PEARCE, ARTWORK, 

PBR STREETGANG, SG LEWIS, 

JOHN MCANDREW 

MON 22 SEPT 

10PM 18+ FROM £4 

MAMMOTH 

TUES 23 SEPT 

7PM £8 ADV 

DARLIA 

THURS 25 SEPT 

7PM £15 ADV 

GRANT NICHOLAS 

FRI 26 SEPT 11PM 18+ FROM £4 

PROPAGANDA 

FT. THOM NICHOLAS 

FROM AMERICAN PIE 

FRI 26 SEPT 

7PM £8 ADV 

JAWS 

SAT 27 SEPT 

7PM £6 ADV 

ARCANE ADDICTION 

SAT 27 SEPT 

10PM 18+ 

CIRCUS BIRTHDAY 

THURS 2 OCT 

7PM £5 ADV 

ETCHES 

FRI 3 OCT 

7PM £5 ADV 

WEIGHTSTOCK III 

SAT 4 OCT 

11PM 18+ 

CHIBUKU 

FT. DUKE DUMONT, 

PYSCHEMAGIK, KIWI, ONEMAN 

SAT 4 OCT 

7PM £8 ADV 

ELIZA & THE BEAR 

MON 6 OCT 

7PM £8 ADV 

BLITZ KIDS 

WEDS 8 OCT 

7PM £14 ADV 

NELL BRYDEN 

THURS 9 OCT 

9PM 18+ £13.50 ADV 

DJ YODA 

(LIVE AV SHOW) 

FRI 10 OCT 

6.30PM £7 ADV 

ANDREW 

METCALFE 

SAT 11 OCT 

10PM 18+ 

CHIBUKU 

SUN 12 OCT 

7PM £10 ADV 

THE TREATMENT 

TUES 14 OCT 

7PM £12 ADV 

WHEATUS 

THURS 16 OCT 

7PM £10 ADV 

LUCY ROSE 

FRI 17 OCT 

7PM £9 ADV 

WOMAN’S HOUR 

SAT 18 OCT 

10PM 18+ 

CHIBUKU 

FT. DUSKY (4 HOUR SET), 

DANIEL AVERY, 

LEON VYNEHALL, 

LORCA, HOLLY LESTER 

TUES 21 OCT 

7PM £10 ADV 

SMOOVE 

& TURRELL 

WEDS 22 OCT 

7PM £9 ADV 

BILLY LOCKETT 

THURS 23 OCT 

7PM £13 ADV 

THE MEN THEY 

COULDN’T HANG 

FRI 24 OCT 

7PM £22.50 ADV 

HEAVEN 17 

FRI 24 OCT 

7PM £6 ADV 

THE STRUTS 

SAT 25 OCT 

10PM 18+ £10 ADV 

MR SCRUFF 

SAT 25 OCT 

7PM £10 ADV 

WAKEY! WAKEY! 

FRI 31ST OCT 

7PM £6 ADV 

AS ELEPHANTS 

ARE & PIXEL FIX 

SAT 1ST NOV 

10PM 18+ 

CIRCUS 

HALLOWEEN PARTY 

FT. YOUSEF, JOSEPH CAPRIATI, 

OLIVER DOLLAR, 

KINK - LIVE, HEID 

WEDS 5 NOV 

7PM £8 ADV 

DEXTERS 

THURS 6 NOV 

7PM £8 ADV 

MARIKA HACKMAN 

FRI 7 NOV 

7PM £10 ADV 

LORDS OF THE RIFF 2 

SAT 8 NOV 

7PM £8 ADV 

THE HEARTBREAKS 

TUES 11 NOV 

7PM £7 ADV 

AMBER RUN 

THURS 13 NOV 

7PM £6 ADV 

RICHIE CAMPBELL 

FRI 14 NOV 

7:30PM £7 ADV 

KING GIZZARD 

& THE LIZARD 

WIZARD 

SAT 15 NOV 

7PM £10 ADV 

COLDPLACE 

WEDS 19 NOV 

7PM £12.50 ADV 

BARRENCE 

WHITFIELD 

& THE SAVAGES 

FRI 21ST NOV 

7PM £12 ADV 

THE SMITHS INDEED 

SAT 22 NOV 

7PM £8 ADV 

MAN OVERBOARD 

SUN 24 NOV 

7PM £15 ADV 

KATIE ARMIGER 

WEDS 26 NOV 

7PM £8 ADV 

COASTS 

FRI 28 NOV 

7PM £12 ADV 

3 DAFT MONKEYS 

THURS 4 DEC 

7PM £10 ADV 

JANET DEVLIN 

SAT 6 DEC 

7PM £12 ADV 

IAN PROWSE 

& AMSTERDAM 

FRI 16 JAN 2015 7PM £18 ADV 

AARON CARTER 

SAT 21 FEB 2015 7PM £15 ADV 

LASHOUT FEST 

THURS 19 MAR 2015 7PM £16.50 ADV 

THE SELECTER 

SAT 2 & SUN 3 MAY 2015 

£20 EARLY BIRD WEEKEND TICKET 

FURY FEST 

EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT 

90 

SEEL STREET, LIVERPOOL, L1 4BH

Bido Lito! October 2014 3 

Editorial 

I was trawling through Sky Movies the other day and I stumbled across a film I’d never heard of 

before called Disconnect, and I decided to give it a whirl based on the précis: “Technology causes 

several lives to intertwine with terrible consequences in this compelling drama.” Though I wasn’t in the 

mood for much brain exercise, I settled in with it, not expecting to last too long before nodding off. The 

story soon split into three different threads following a variety of characters, all running fairly parallel 

to each other, and regularly overlapping. Each character’s storyline slowly unspooled, with the plot 

based around their various interactions with each other on an assortment of communication devices: a 

reporter engaging with a chat-room stripper via a webcam; a prank Facebook Messenger conversation 

between students in the same high school; an identity theft chase that leads back to an online support 

group discussion. Without being overt, the drama was left to play out in these conversations, leaving 

you to wonder where they’d meander. It also brought you in really close to each of the stories, but in 

a weirdly cold way. There was little in the way of conventional scenes, actors acting and exchanging 

dialogue; instead, the camera was frequently trained on the actors’ faces, blue-lit by the glow from their 

laptops, computers or mobile phones. As the text of their various conversations ticked across the screen 

in the space over their shoulders, we were left to watch their reactions. It soon became an engrossing 

piece, as we almost remotely and voyeuristically watched emotions play across faces as the plotlines 

spiralled into ever-weirder territory. 

By the time it came to its inconclusive and slightly clumsy denouement I was far past nodding off, 

and was struck by the detached intimacy of the way each character had slowly become consumed 

by their communication devices. They had also, indeed, become disconnected from their own lives 

as they rolled on about them. Perhaps inevitably it made me think about the way I interact with 

the variety of ‘social’ networks at my fingertips, and how ingrained each one has become in my life. 

Though I’m sure I could survive without Instagram (hmmm…), I’m not sure how I’d cope without the 

ability of instant communication. Take this issue for example: three of this month’s features were 

set up and agreed upon over Facebook Messenger, while another one was largely done via a text 

message conversation. Direct line obtained, information exchanged, job done. But why did I still feel 

a little guilty doing it that way? 

One thing that Disconnect did leave me to ponder was how all-encompassing our relationship 

with social networks can be. It’s easy to get lost in the maze of possibilities that Twitter, Facebook 

and Instagram (and whatever else you waste your time on) throws up. Via status updates, links to 

songs, liking articles, retweeting words of wisdom, and carefully selecting what photos we’re ‘tagged 

in’, each of us who engage with social media is (perhaps unwittingly) building an avatar of ourselves 

that we want the rest of the world to see. I see it as like the “residual self-image” of the characters 

in The Matrix: a projection of how we see ourselves – or, even, how we want others to see us. People 

are so aware about online self-promotion today that I sometimes wonder if they even bother what 

someone else thinks. 

Of course, it’s all about control. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in micro-managing the small things 

of our “residual self-image” that we forget about the bigger picture. We forget to open our eyes and 

experience the world happening around us. In Ralph Ellison’s book Invisible Man, the title character 

says, “life is to be lived, not controlled”; I’d agree with that, and I’d raise you Tyler Durden (to Tyler 

Durden) in Fight Club – “just let go”. 

In this I’m reminded of a beloved friend, Yasmin Jones, whose pure nature was to throw caution to 

the wind. “Fly away like a butterfly” was a favourite saying of hers; for this, and much more, she will 

always be remembered. 

Christopher Torpey / @BidoLito 

Editor 

Features 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

GULF 

TEAR TALK 

AMIQUE 

LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK 

PEAKING LIGHTS 

SILENT CITIES 

GOD UNKNOWN 

Regulars 

4 NEWS 

24 

PREVIEWS/SHORTS 

26 

REVIEWS 

Bido Lito! 

Issue Forty Nine / October 2014 

bidolito.co.uk 

4th Floor, Mello Mello, 40-42 Slater St, 

Liverpool, L1 4BX 

Editor 

Christopher Torpey - chris@bidolito.co.uk 

Editor-In-Chief / Publisher 

Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk 

Reviews Editor 

Sam Turner - live@bidolito.co.uk 

Designer 

Luke Avery - info@luke-avery.com 

Proofreading 

Debra Williams - debra@wordsanddeeds.co.uk 

Words 

Christopher Torpey, Craig G Pennington, Patrick 

Clarke, Phil Gwyn, Jack Graysmark, Laurie 

Cheeseman, Josh Ray, Richard Lewis, Alastair 

Dunn, Maurice Stewart, Dave Tate, Laurence 

Thompson, Paddy Hughes, Josh Potts, Paul Riley. 

Photography, Illustration and Layout 

Luke Avery, Jack McVann, Chris McCoy, Gareth 

Arrowsmith, Robin Clewley, Jordan Abraham, 

Brian Roberts, Sam Wiehl, John Johnson, Glyn 

Akroyd, Stuart Moulding, Adam Edwards. 

Adverts 

To advertise please contact ads@bidolito.co.uk 

Distributed By Middle Distance 

Print, distribution and events support across 

Merseyside and the North West. 

middledistance.org 

The T 

views expressed in Bido Lito! are those of the 

respective contributors and do not necessarily reflect 

the opinions of the magazine, its staff or the publishers. 

All rights reserved.

News 

Arts Club HQ 

Seel Street’s venerable old building, known to us as East Village Arts Club for the past 18 months, has had a bit of a refresh. 

Now operating solely as ARTS CLUB, the Mama Co venue will still be functioning as one of the city’s busiest hubs of live music, 

with a host of great shows lined up for October – DJ YODA, ETCHES, and two packed CHIBUKU nights are among the highlights. 

The recently redesigned Bar & Kitchen area will now also be hosting open mic nights, as well as vinyl stalls, DJs and a music quiz 

on the new Stylus Sundays. Head to artsclubliverpool.com for further info and listings. 

Bido Lito! Dansette 

Our pick of this month’s wax wonders, 

as chosen by Bido Lito! 

writer Alastair 

Dunn. 

A Decade Of Mellowtone 

One of Liverpool’s promoting institutions, MELLOWTONE, celebrates its landmark tenth birthday this month. Having racked up a decade 

of Liverpool gigging that covers folk, blues and roots, the collective are planning to mark the anniversary with a commemorative release. 

The Mellowtone Is 10 compilation celebrates a decade of quietly creating a stir by featuring acts who have graced the Mellowtone stage 

over the years. To accompany this there will be a launch/birthday party at Leaf on 26th November, and warm-up shows at Leaf in October 

with James Yorkston (14th) and Liverpool Comedy Festival (1st), featuring Micky P Kerr and Dylan Owen. mellowtone.info 

Orchestral Museum Dazzling 

OMD are celebrating 35 years in music with a special show at the Museum Of Liverpool on 1st November. The Wirral-based band’s 

influential fourth album, Dazzle Ships (pictured), was inspired by the painting Dazzle Ships In Dry Dock At Liverpool by Edward 

Wadsworth. Now that there is once again a Dazzle Ship in a dry dock in front of the Museum – by Carlos Cruz-Diez for Liverpool Biennial 

– the time couldn’t be better. As well as performing the missing parts I, IV, V and VI of their 1983 musique concrète composition, the 

band will be joined by a reel-to-reel tape recorder known as Winston, which they used in their very early gigging days. 

The Epstein’s Comic Timing 

If you prefer your night out to include a belly laugh-inducing routine rather than a chin-stroking musical turn, then The Epstein 

Theatre’s comedy programme should have something for you. The star in October’s listings comes on 2nd October when British Comedy 

Award-winning duo CARDINAL BURNS (pictured) bring their character-based sketches to town. The pair have been performing stand-up 

shows since they met at film school in Edinburgh, but it was their 2012 self-titled E4 series that gave them their massive break, and 

they’ve been gathering plaudits ever since. The rest of the venue’s comedy and theatre listings can be found at epsteinliverpool.co.uk. 

We’re Oxjamming 

This month sees two brilliant fundraising events that come under the OXJAM umbrella. First up is THE OXJAM PROJECT, a charity 

gig at Arts Club (18th October) as part of the National Music Festival. The show features live sets from Andrew Metcalfe (ex-Sound Of 

Guns), Run Tiger Run and plenty more. Then on 18th October it’s the turn of OXJAM LIVERPOOL TAKEOVER, who bring a Super Weird 

Happening to Constellations. Featuring performances from a crack assemblage of local DJs, the event – in association with Freeze 

– centres around Greg Wilson and Kermit Leveridge’s band Blind Arcade, and is one of only five such shows across the country. 

On General Release 

COMPETITION! 

It’s been yet another busy month for local artists, with many a release to treat our ears. The Cubical’s DAN WILSON finally 

released his solo record All Love Is Blind, which is a melange of his own distinctively Waitsian bar-room ballads with some grander 

arrangements. It’s been a stop-start project for Wilson, having been compiled over the last two years in-between bouts of touring. 

Then there’s the juddering concoction Hadakaknacht on Rest Relax Records, a ghostly collaboration between locals MITTERNACT 

and Swedes HADAKA that will curdle your blood in no time. Keep the releases coming, we say. 

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to gig megathons round these here parts, and one of the longest-running and most 

consistent of these is LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK. This autumn’s incarnation of the festival is extra special as it will be the tenth 

edition, for which a suitably attention-grabbing line-up has been assembled. 

Starting with large showcase events at Camp And Furnace (MOGWAI, CARIBOU) and O2 Academy (THE WAR ON DRUGS and WILD 

BEASTS), the two week-long gig extravaganza is also interspersed with free shows at The Kazimier (HOOKWORMS, THE ANTLERS), 

and a mammoth of a closing party spread across the Baltic Quarter. 

This month we’ve teamed up with the bods at LMW to offer two lucky readers the chance to each win a pair of tickets to the closing 

party (1st November), which features headline shows by CHVRCHES, BLACK LIPS (pictured) and dozens more. To win, all you have to do is answer this question: 

Black Lips hail from which state of the USA? a) Georgia 

b) Alexandria c) Sofia 

To enter, just email your answer to competition@bidolito.co.uk by 25th October. All correct answers will be placed in to a big pink washing machine, 

with the winner drawn at random and notified by email. Good luck! 

Grouper 

Call Across Rooms 

KRANKY 

Though it was recorded three years 

ago, GROUPER's latest track has only 

just surfaced, ahead of the release of 

Liz Harris’ tenth studio album Ruins. 

Haunting and beautifully melodic, Call 

Across Rooms sees a stripped back 

Grouper of just piano and vocals. It is 

minimal yet expansive, and a promising 

sign of things to come. 

Ariel Pink 

Put Your Number In My 

Phone 

4AD 

The first single to be released from new 

album pom pom, Put Your Number In 

My Phone is predictably enjoyable, but 

marks a departure from ARIEL PINK's 

synth-heavy, disco-inflected output of the 

past. With jangly guitars and bittersweet 

lyrics, it is fairly reminiscent of Stephen 

Merritt's early work, and perhaps a bit 

more restrained than what Ariel fans 

have become accustomed to. 

Aphex Twin 

minipops 67 [120.2] 

[source field mix] 

WARP RECORDS 

After several months of blimps and the 

most intense APHEX TWIN hype ever, 

Richard D. James has released a new 

track to satiate the rabid hunger of 

seemingly every music fan/journalist on 

the planet. Typically dark and infectious, 

with unsettling vocal sample melodies, 

it is hard not to get excited to hear what 

the electronic icon will produce on his 

first record in ten years. 

FKA Twigs 

LP 1 

YOUNG TURKS 

Tahliah Debrett Barnett's enthralling and 

critically lauded debut is one of the most 

impressive albums to be released this 

year. Meandering through a landscape 

of ghostly, broken RnB interspersed with 

lyrics about twilight sexual encounters, 

LP 1 makes for a fascinating listen - 

the past 20 years of electronic music 

uniquely imagined. 

bidolito.co.uk

facebook.com/o2academyliverpool 

twitter.com/o2academylpool 

instagram.com/o2academyliverpool 

youtube.com/o2academytv 

Fri 26th Sept • £13 adv 

The Urban 

Voodoo Machine 

Sat 27th Sept • £16 adv 

The Pierces 

Weds 1st Oct • £15 adv 

Wayne Hussey 

(The Mission) 

Fri 3rd Oct • £9 adv 

The Big Cheese Tour 

ft. Lonely The Brave 

+ Marmozets + Allusondrugs 

Sat 4th Oct • £18 adv 

Goodgreef Xtra Hard 

- 10 Year Celebration 

ft. Darren Styles 

+ Re-Style + Alex Kidd 

+ Andy Whitby + Mark EG 

Sun 5th Oct • £15 adv 

Supersuckers 

+ The Trews 

Fri 10th Oct • £14 adv 

Kids In Glass Houses 


ICW 

(Insane Championship 

Wrestling): I Am The Walrus 


Knotslip 

Mon 13th Oct • £14 adv 

The Lawrence Arms 

Tues 14th Oct • £13 adv 

Alestorm 

Thurs 16th Oct • £15 adv 

Clean Bandit 

+ Years & Years 


Maverick Sabre 


Hawklords 

+ The Crucified Twins 


The Carpet Crawlers 

performing ‘Genesis - 

The Lamb Lies Down On 

Broadway’ 40th Anniversary 

Thurs 23rd Oct • £25 adv 

Boomtown Rats 

Ratlife UK Tour 

Fri 24th Oct • £9.50 adv 

Lucius 


9pm - 3am • over 21s only 

Drome 

ft. Dream Frequency 

Live PA 

+ Trix vs X-Ray 

+ MC Cyanide 

+ DJ Rob + MC Cutter 

+ DJ Nibbs 

Mon 27th Oct • £20 adv 

Amity Fest 

Tues 28th Oct • £11 adv 

Little Comets 

Thurs 30th Oct • £16 adv 

Haken 

+ Leprous 

+ Maschine 

Thurs 30th Oct • £16.50 adv 

Wild Beasts 

+ Money 

+ Nimmo and the Gauntletts 

Fri 31st Oct • £28.50 adv 

UB40 

Sat 1st Nov • £7.50 adv 

Connor Harris 

Mon 3rd Nov 

Royal Blood 

Mon 3rd Nov • £14 adv 

SikTh 

+ Heart Of A Coward + Idiom 

Tues 4th Nov • £16.50 adv 

The War On Drugs 

+ Steve Gunn 

Weds 5th Nov • £17.50 adv 

Band Of Skulls 

+ Bo Ningen 

Thurs 6th Nov • £11 adv 

The Shires & 

Ward Thomas 

Fri 7th Nov • £15 adv 

The Crazy World 

Of Arthur Brown 

Sat 8th Nov • £10 adv 

UK Foo Fighters 


Antarctic Monkeys 


Mallory Knox 

+ Frnkiero andthe Cellabration 

+ Fort Hope + Moose Blood 


8pm - 1am • over 18s only 

Quadrophenia Night 

+ Danny Mahon 

Sun 16th Nov • £20 adv 

Alabama 3 

Mon 17th Nov • £17.50 adv 

Lit 

Weds 19th Nov • £18 adv 

T’Pau 

Thurs 20th Nov • £18.50 adv 

6pm 

Pop Punks Not Dead 

ft. New Found Glory 

+ The Story So Far + State Champs 

+ Candy Hearts + Only Rivals 

Fri 21st Nov • £14 adv 

Absolute Bowie 

Fri 28th Nov • £11.50 adv 

The Doors Alive 


Legend 

(Bob Marley Tribute) 


The Hummingbirds 

Mon 1st Dec • £18.50 adv 

Professor Green 

Weds 3rd Dec • £15 adv 

Graham Bonnet 

Catch The Rainbow Tour 

Thurs 4th Dec • £12 adv 

Electric Six 

+ The Usual Crowd + Andy D 

Fri 5th Dec • £12 adv 

The Lancashire 

Hotpots 

+ The Bar-Steward Sons 

Of Val Doonican 

Sat 6th Dec • £20 adv 

The Enemy 

& The Twang 


Dreadzone + DJ Buddah 

Sun 7th Dec • £8 adv 

Raging Speedhorn 

Mon 8th Dec • £10 adv 

Toby Jepson 

Tues 9th Dec • £19.50 adv 

Gogol Bordello 

+ Mariachi El Bronx 

Sat 13th Dec 

Catfish And 

The Bottlemen 

Thurs 18th Dec • £10 adv 

The Jagermeister 

Music Tour 2014 

ft. Me First and 

the Gimme Gimmes 

+ The Skints 

Fri 19th Dec • £22.50 adv 

Fish 

A Moveable Feast Tour 


Cast 

+ John McCullagh 

& The Escorts 

Weds 18th Feb 2015 • £16.50 adv 

Kerrang! Tour 2015 

ft. Don Broco 

+ We Are The In Crowd 

Fri 20th Feb 2015 • £10 adv 

Hudson Taylor 

Sat 21st Feb 2015• £16 adv 

Jungle 

Sat 21st Feb 2015 • £11 adv 

The Smyths 

30th Anniversary of ‘Hatful Of 

Hollow’ - the seminal album 

played in its entirety 

Sat 28th Feb 2015 • £18 adv 

T’Pau 

Mon 9th Mar 2015 • £23 adv 

The Stranglers 

Sat 14th Mar 2015 • £14 adv 

Whole Lotta Led 

Sat 2nd May 2015 • £12.50 adv 

Bless This 

Beatology - DJ FOOD 

Live AV Set 

+ DJ Kiddology 

Mon 25th May 2015 • £20 adv 

Chas & Dave 

Thurs 30th Oct • £16.50 adv 

Wild Beasts 

Tues 4th Nov • £16.50 adv 

The War On Drugs 

Weds 5th Nov • £16.50 adv 

Band Of Skulls 

o2academyliverpool.co.uk 

11-13 Hotham Street, Liverpool L3 5UF • Doors 7pm unless stated 

Venue box office opening hours: Mon - Sat 11.30am - 5.30pm • No booking fee on cash transactions 

ticketweb.co.uk • seetickets.com • gigantic.com • ticketmaster.co.uk

gul 

6 

Bido Lito! October 2014 

Words: Patrick Clarke / @paddyclarke 

Photography: Jack McVann / jackmcvann.net 

GULF are a band just six songs into their career of as many 

months and are undeniably a group at the embryonic, outwardlooking, 

listless-possibilities stage. That said, the five-piece 

have already begun to be saddled with the heavy weight 

of potential, the current buzz-thing subjected to the hypemachine’s 

perpetual churn – in Gulf’s case, they are “enigmatic”, 

“mysterious” and “elusive”. Until recently, the band had next to 

no online presence, but there’s little in the way of a scheme 

behind it. Gulf are remaining relatively anonymous not to 

perpetuate a marketed mythology – as a snowballing gaggle 

of groups from The Residents onwards have done – but simply 

because they just don’t want to be rushed, preferring to speak 

via little more than sheer proficiency. 

All that aloofness does, nevertheless, generate at least 

a little apprehension when encountering such a band in the 

flesh. Writers are, after all, ever champing at the bit to get their 

mitts on the big reveal. Approaching the Baltic Social to meet 

the group on a sticky late-summer afternoon, it soon becomes 

apparent that it’s a sense of modest introversion – as opposed 

to any kind of antagonism or self-importance – that has kept 

Gulf away from rafts of prying eyes. An opening question on 

the subject of the so-called mystery surrounding the group 

garners neither a scoff nor outrage, but a long, shy and slightly 

awkward pause instead. 

“We’re not really into social media. I think it’s nonsense,” 

drummer Josh Gorman eventually states with uncharacteristic 

curtness. “I’m not sure it’s that good for actually building an 

audience, Facebook.” As we find sufficient quiet in a disorderly 

rehearsal room upstairs, their Facebook page is two days old; 

there are, at the time of writing, still no posts. “When you 

start a band, you’re expected to have a Facebook page and 

a Twitter [account] before you’ve got any songs, whereas 

we were the opposite way. We put it out on the blogs first 

and then thought about it later,” Josh continues. “It’s very 

important for some bands. I just don’t think we want to 

concentrate on that side,” concedes a more measured Jake 

Brown, the band’s bassist. 

The band have six tracks recorded and, though in name 

the half-dozen are merely demos, they are the sound of a 

band that, musically at least, seem fully formed and entirely 

at ease. Recorded with Darren Jones, whose CV boasts prior 

work with Bird, Bill Ryder-Jones, The Maccabees and The Fall, 

the demos recoil, shimmer and groove, led by thick, viscous 

bass and a smooth, collected vocal; these are no throwaway 

bedroom efforts. “We just want to get good quality stuff out 

there, and we’ve still managed to achieve a good-quality 

result doing it our own way,” offers Mark Jones (Synth, Guitar, 

Vocals). “We’re going to go with the demo approach, post 

them on SoundCloud, see what the reaction is, rather than 

official stuff,” adds the drummer. 

“I think it’s good because you’re in control, aren’t you? We’re 

in control of how we record it, when we put it out, when we do 

the press,” continues Josh. “Also, the idea that it’s a demo means 

it could be better; it’s not the mastered, final, be-all-and-end-all 

label version. It’s just the best we could do with the budget 

we had at the time.” It does seem a little unusual, however, 

that the group feel no pressure to release something ‘proper’ 

– there are, as of yet, no plans for an EP, video or official single – 

even though their track Emitter has just premiered as a “single” 

on Les Inrocks. “If the music’s there the music’s there, whether 

it’s official or not,” says Josh when I ask the band if they’re 

worried about being overtaken by their considerable attention. 

“I see what you mean, though – obviously hype’s important, but 

I don’t think it’s getting ahead of us,” adds Mark 

That hype includes national press, an arguable zenith being 

a feature in NME and, though they might not have the web 

savviness to buttress the build-up, the undeniable excellence of 

their outings thus far would seem to be backing enough. Emitter 

sees a full-bodied propulsion into the realm of psychedelic pop 

in modish and inviting fashion, with alluring, capacious synths 

rippling and washing atop an irresistible groove, colliding with 

a cool, stylised vocal. Prime, meanwhile, the track that initially 

bidolito.co.uk

fBido Lito! October 2014 

7 

set the blogs alight, is perhaps their most direct: layers of 

weaving guitars and eddying vocals dovetailing in a crescendo 

of pop, before ebbing back to a rich vocal centrepiece. These 

tracks are in similar company with the band’s other material, 

and though the back-catalogue may be slim thus far, with just 

a few demos to go on, Gulf’s craftsmanship is evidently deft to 

say the least. 

That the band sound so fully formed so soon out of the gate 

is just one of the reasons that the plaudits continue to rain on 

Gulf, yet that itself is explicable in that Mark and fellow guitarist 

Femi Fadero had spent three years in a trio, jamming in the 

old drummer’s house and “just getting the sound right,” until 

the group expanded via word of mouth around the hivemind 

of the Liverpool scene that is Elevator studios. “This building is 

like, everyone,” says Jake. “There are tonnes of people in bands 

around here so it’s easy to find people. I had just heard there 

was a band looking for a bassist” 

When asked to describe their own music, the band begin to 

struggle, cluttering through a dozen genres until Josh is the 

first to compose himself: “Psychedelia is a main influence, but 

then you’ve got pop music and soul… and also a bit of funk.” 

“It’s more like the sounds, the effects, a lot of, dare I say, the 

‘sonics’ of [psychedelia]… A lot more sort of soundscape stuff,” 

expands his frontman. And therein lies the chief virtue of Gulf’s 

material. Though the finished article is effortlessly tight, their 

kaleidoscopic sound amalgamates a host of styles into a piece 

that’s immediate and demanding, yet still has enough subtlety 

to draw the listener back. Take Tell Me Again, for example 

(though any of their tracks can boast similar craftsmanship): at 

heart the tune is a nimble three-and-a-half-minute pop number, 

yet beneath an accessible veil of lively songsmithery is all 

manner of depth, from the funk-infused backing guitar line to 

the whispering dash of a sporadic counter-melody from the 

synths. Listen to it on repeat and there’s even more subtlety 

to be delved. 

Though the tracks – which are to be released in stages 

leading up to a November headline show at London’s Old Blue 

Last – draw on an abundance of influences, there’s a musical 

elephant in the room that has to be addressed: Gulf sound a 

lot like Tame Impala, perhaps ample justification for dismissal 

from some. “We always get compared to Tame Impala; I think 

that’s pretty obvious,” says Josh, and those comparisons are 

sure to continue as long as Gulf’s particular penchant for 

louche psych pop follows suit. There’s more going on than a 

well-packaged tribute though. Winter Sun, in particular, boasts 

an ephemeral segment of echoing walls of guitar that draw to 

mind a more tightly-bottled blend of one of The Horrors’ more 

epic segments, and there’s even an understated fondness for 

all things dance. The group find common ground with fellow 

acclaimed Liverpudlians Outfit, the two sharing an infusion of 

dance in their predominantly indie leanings, and with London 

shoegazers Childhood. “I think we’re more like The Flaming Lips 

[than Tame Impala] actually,” says Mark. “There’s a bit of the 

sound of The Flaming Lips with beats from Motown and things 

like that.” Predominantly then, though undeniably led by firm 

similarities with those psychedelic Aussies, Gulf are something 

of a cocktail, with an astounding amount to draw on for a band 

so young. 

Unfortunately for the clickbait headlines, Gulf are in reality 

not wildly enigmatic, feather boa-wearing crackpots, nor are 

they all that mysterious. Rather, this five-piece are simply a very 

good band with a healthy aversion to the platitudes of online 

saturation. To focus on that aspect of the group, however, is to 

slightly miss the point. What’s great about Gulf is a sense of 

straightforwardness, that no faux-outrageous quotes or endless, 

perpetual publicity drives precede the songs themselves, and 

that those songs stand up as very, very good. Perhaps the group 

have yet to properly free themselves of heavy outside influence 

and properly push their own boundaries, but for now we can 

content ourselves with some truly marvellous material. 

soundcloud.com/gulf 

bidolito.co.uk

8 


Tear Talk 

Words: Phil Gwyn / notmanyexperts.com 

Photography: Chris McCoy 

Thirty seconds after we meet up with noir pop specialists 

TEAR TALK at one of Liverpool’s venerable rehearsal studios, we 

find ourselves in the most awkward of introductory scenarios: 

crammed together in a lift that seems to have been designed to 

transport single snare drums rather than actual human beings. 

“They’ve really done this place up recently, haven’t they,” muses 

Tear Talk frontman Josh Miller (Vocals, Guitar) just a few inches 

from us. “There used to be cocks drawn over the walls.” We nod 

appreciatively at the lack of cocks on the walls and continue our 

ascent to the room in which Miller and co. have been sculpting 

the stark melancholia of their forthcoming EP, Ruins. 

Stark and dark may be the picture painted by the four tracks 

on Ruins, but the world of Tear Talk is far from being bereft of 

optimism. Two years ago they were a band who had stirred the 

whispers of those with their ears to the ground in Liverpool 

with a couple of raw EPs steeped in nihilistic poetry and scrappy 

melodies, only to retreat into silence on both occasions. Perched 

in their practice space, all improvised ashtrays and scribbled track 

names, Josh explains that, with most of the band’s members at 

uni, they’d write manically whenever they had the opportunity 

before dispersing again. “In the summers, we’d write really 

quickly, and then everyone would leave. It’s only this time that 

we’ve come back and there’s been no massive rush; we’ve got all 

the time in the world.” 

It’s not all that’s changed since Tear Talk released their first 

EP, Port Sunlight, way back in the depths of 2012. Back then they 

were splicing together dark, existential lyrics with breezy washes 

of guitar and keys, whilst second EP B R E A T H E saw them 

traverse into swampier atmospheres that felt menacing rather 

than breezy. “It was all just a bit too happy,” says Josh of their 

sound from the Port Sunlight days. “I think it was a conscious shift 

really to stop writing songs in a major key and to do something 

that was more reflective of what we actually liked. Our listening 

habits change all the time... When we started, we were into Beat 

Happening and the DIY ethos but, with B R E A T H E, we got a lot 

more into the dark wave stuff from L.A. And obviously it’s changed 

again on Ruins.” 

It says a lot of Liverpool’s swelling creative infrastructure 

that when asked to pinpoint these specific influences of Ruins, 


Tear Talk avoid the music industry’s approved list of influences 

(Twin Peaks, The Velvet Underground, perhaps even an ironic 

appreciation of ABBA) and instead, tongue lodged firmly in cheek, 

respond “By The Sea.” They laugh, but they’re not quite joking – not 

in a practical sense, anyway. As it turns out, Ruins was conceived 

when the band agreed to work on something with By The Sea’s 

Joe Edwards and Danny McConnell, who then produced the record 

and will be casting it out into the world on their newly minted 

War Room Records imprint. As Josh explains: “We’d met By The 

Sea and done a few shows with them, and it was suggested that 

we should work together... So we made something as dissonant 

and as difficult as possible: it started out that every song was six 

minutes plus. It’s been whittled down into a pop record by them, 

which is something we definitely needed.” 

After much enthusing about the textures and layers that the By 

The Sea boys brought to the table – not to mention Joe’s keyboard 

heroics (“he’s a keyboard wizard”) – Josh turns to us with the 

intensity of a convicted man who’s about to confess something 

grave. “Suicide were a big deal for us. The summer before we’d 

seen them live at Primavera in Barcelona, and it sort of stuck with 

me. It was really loud, aggressive, but still really poppy.” Aggressive 

and loud aren’t the first adjectives you’d attach to Ruins, but there 

are definitely similarities in the way that they both obscure their 

melodic roots; the hooks are there at the centre of songs like 

Decades, but they’re shrouded by Miller’s introspective musings 

and the slight fog of synthesised flourishes that hangs over the 

entire EP. That misty shawl of electronics definitely seems like a 

departure for the band, as well. “We were listening to a lot of 

electronic stuff when we were writing it,” intones Josh. “Stuff like 

Mmoths – stuff that had a really strong emphasis on atmosphere 

but kept pop song structures.” 

It’s maybe a result of them moving simultaneously in these 

two opposite directions – at once embracing pop structures 

and adding gloomy synth glows – that Ruins ends up delicately 

balanced: it houses both some of their most immediate moments 

and their most agonisingly introspective. Decades, for example, 

is full of cascading guitar and vocal melodies astride powering 

drums, but it follows the slo-mo melancholia of Realise – three 

minutes of skeletal xx-like beats, the spectral chimes of delaysmothered 

guitars, and lyrics centring around alienation and 

amorous frustration. 

The EP also embodies optimism, not only because it heralds 

the arrival of another hugely talented prospect, but also because 

of its release on War Room Records, which is rapidly looking like 

it could become the label and community of artists hybrid that 

has admittedly been lacking in Liverpool recently. Tear Talk are full 

of enthusiasm for what the project - set up by By The Sea partially 

to release their recent LP, and now housing not just Tear Talk but 

Two Sunsets and Minnietonka - might become. “War Room could 

be a very cool thing,” Josh tells us. “I personally wanted to model 

it on SWAYS in Manchester [the Mancunian “cultural regenerator” 

record label and early home of MONEY], because I think that’s 

something that’s kind of lacking in Liverpool, in my personal 

opinion.” 

With cynicism surrounding a music industry that’s finding it 

tougher than ever to turn a profit, it may well be that musicians 

increasingly turn to local artist-involved projects like War Room 

to release their music. Josh sums up this general distrust of the 

envoys of the music industry, who come armed with contracts 

and promises (and a demand for a cut of all future earnings): “I 

don’t trust anyone to do anything music-related. But I trust Joe and 

Danny to do a very good job no matter what. I think that’s what 

you need at the top – people who you can really trust, who are just 

doing it purely for the love of it. Not because they want to make 

money out of it, but because they want to get the artists the most 

exposure that they can.” Make no mistake about it though, this 

doesn’t reflect a lack of ambition. Exactly the opposite is true, in 

fact, but, as Josh says, Tear Talk are simply ambitious in an artistic 

rather than a commercial sense; “Ruins is something that I’m really 

proud of; I think it has surpassed my expectations. A lot of time 

and effort went into it. As long as people hear it, I’ll be happy.” 

But there’s no rush: when you’ve got all the time in the world, 

what’s the point? Tear Talk have used their time wisely, arriving 

just where they need to be at precisely the right time. When 

you’ve got some time, spend it wisely: spend it with Tear Talk. 

Ruins is released on War Room Records in November. 

teartalk.bandcamp.com

NEW GIGS 

ANNOUNCED 

– 

CATRIN FINCH & 

SECKOU KEITA 

Wednesday 8 October 7.30pm 

St George’s Hall Concert Room 

PACO PEÑA 

Requiem for the Earth featuring 

Sense of Sound Singers 

Thursday 9 October 7.30pm 

The Metropolitan Cathedral 

Liverpool Irish Festival 2014 

MOXIE 

plus support: Anam 



DAVE GORMAN 

Gets straight to the Point* 

(*the Powerpoint) 

Tuesday 11 November 8pm 

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 

GRAHAM 

NORTON LIVE 

The Life and Loves of a He Devil 

Saturday 15 November 8pm 


JOHN GRANT 

with the Royal Northern Sinfonia 

Saturday 22 November 7.30pm 



WE BANJO 3 

plus support: Maz O’Connor 




THE GLOAMING 

Sunday 2 November 7.30pm 


BELLOWHEAD 

Monday 10 November 7.30pm 


Image Imelda May 

St Andrew’s Night Celebration with 

CAPERCAILLIE 

Sunday 30 November 7.30pm 


IMELDA MAY 

Friday 5 December 7.30pm 


DaDaFest International 2014 

STAFF BENDA 

BILILI 

plus support 

Saturday 6 December 7.30pm 



Box Office 0151 709 3789 

liverpoolphil.com 

Booking fees Online/Phone Orders £1.50 per ticket administrative fee 

applies + 75p per order postage fee (if required). 

In Person No fees for payment by cash or debit card. Credit card orders incur 

a 2% transaction fee. Cheque orders are subject to a 70p per order charge.

10 


AMIQUE’S COSMIC WISDOM 

Ask yourself this question – when was the last time you 

connected with a piece of music? And we don’t mean picking up a 

slab of vinyl or scrolling through the playlists on your iPod. Think 

back to the most recent occasion when you really listened to 

something, felt it, bored down into its soul and let a little bit of it 

seep in to you: maybe it made you laugh, cry or well up with pride. 

Still not got it yet? It was a struggle for us too, swimming back 

through our own transient relationship with music to reconnect 

with a moment when a song grabbed us round the navel and 

made us feel alive. 

This connection between music and soul is not something that 

AMIQUE struggles with: his knowledge of the spiritual importance 

desire to prove yourself has a tendency to keep you in the studio 

and the rehearsal room a little bit longer, perfecting the vibe, so 

to speak. 

BL!: 

There are a few more dimensions to the sounds on 

Oh! The 

Ecstasy 

compared to 

Conception. Were you always looking to be 

a bit more ambitious with this one? 

A: Conception was always going to be a much more organic 

piece of work. It was supposed to reflect the natural conception 

of life and, as such, synthetic instruments would not have worked. 

For this EP, my sense of artistic translation was at a much higher 

level and I was ready to express that in whatever way was 

what do you have that gift for and who are you serving? I try to 

ask myself this question as often as possible. 

BL!: Another thing that stuck out for me was the line “Unaware 

of exactly why we are existing” from Just Babies. Can you explain 

a little more about where this came from? 

A: I realised that no matter how good or bad a person’s actions 

and words may seem, everybody is ultimately just trying to make 

their way through life. We're all asking why we're here, and looking 

for an understanding as to what our contribution is supposed to 

be. True satisfaction arguably comes from understanding what 

that contribution is. No one has all the answers. All anyone 

really wants is to be loved. And sometimes we do crazy things 

in an attempt to find that love. That line is interesting to me now 

because I'm currently reading a book about past lives: it explores 

the idea that we do make a choice to be born but, the older we 

get, the more about our pre-life decisions we forget. I wonder 

why... 

BL!: Your spirituality has a complex but great relationship with 

funk on Oh! The Ecstasy. I get the impression, though, that for 

you it would be difficult to separate the two vibes as distinct 

entities… 

A: I am one person and, as such, an honest piece of work will 

reflect that truth. Also, people need to understand that funk is a 

deeply spiritual genre of music. History teaches us that funk was 

always about uplifting people and implementing positive change, 

both spiritually and socially. It's important to note as well that, 

conceptually, this EP is about the relationship between artistic 

and spiritual ecstasy. Same chemicals released in the body, same 

reactions, same feelings. I wanted this EP to give YOU a sense of 

ecstasy and therefore break through any walls you put up, and 

maybe inspire that third eye to open a little... 

Words: Christopher Torpey / @CATorp 

Photography: Robin Clewley / @robinscamera 

Design: Jordan Abraham 

of music is profound, and the opening up of this pathway has 

enabled him to produce yet another collection of touching, 

uplifting songs on his new EP Oh! The Ecstasy. The songwriter 

and former Sense Of Sound vocalist has brought a heady brew 

of soul, funk, gospel and a fierce spirituality to his latest clutch of 

songs; in a bid to find out how he did it, we engaged in some of 

Amique’s cosmic wisdom. 

Bido Lito!: 

When we last spoke to you, in June 2013, you said 

you wanted to follow up your Conception EP with a new one 

straight away. Why have you made us wait so long for Oh! The 

Ecstasy 

then?! 

Amique: I've spent the past year studying my craft and striving 

to perfect the translation of music as idea to music as reality. I 

think the journey music makes from the spirit, to your fingertips, 

to your speaker box is a deeply fascinating and engrossing one, 

and I wanted to release something that reflected the journey 

as a whole and not just a singular moment. I could easily have 

compiled some tracks straight after Conception and released 

them, but why repeat the same thing to the same people in the 

same way? I had to study. Also, when you’re an artist still in the 

embryonic stage of your career, that chip on your shoulder and 


appropriate. The recording of this EP was so easy: I was able 

to create exactly what I heard in my head with no interruption 

between the head and the hand. When that starts to happen you 

have to be courageous and allow the song to form itself. 

BL!: I was struck by the strength of the message each track 

was built on – nothing is throwaway. Do you think, when applied 

properly, music can be used as a tool for positive change? 

A: Yes sir. And thank you very much. The evolution this EP went 

through meant that I was constantly striving for a purposeful piece 

of work, no filler or throwaway, so I appreciate your kind words. 

We need to stop worrying about how many Twitter followers we 

have and start talking about what's really going on. Too many 

people are suffering and getting a raw deal. We, as artists, can 

respond with truth and uplift our communities. Marvin Gaye, The 

Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, Public Enemy, Joni Mitchell – these 

are artists that stood up and represented the truth and used 

their gift to implement positive change. Cher once said, “If I'm 

not worrying about whether there'll be food on my table tonight, 

I should be worrying about why there won't be food on other 

people's table tonight.” We all need to follow that. There has to 

be more to our gift than promoting ourselves. In the long run, 

BL!: Do you think we could all do with a little bit more cosmic 

wisdom in our lives? 

A: Yes. Know thy self. There is something much bigger going on 

around us and within us; we need to get smart. 

BL!: A few years back you worked on a production about 

American human rights activist Bayard Rustin at Liverpool’s 

International Slavery Museum (A Reflection Of Time On Two 

Crosses). Could you see yourself doing more production work like 

that in the future? 

A: Yes, absolutely. I'm currently working on a production with 

some incredible writers that will take me in another direction 

artistically and tell a hugely important story. As for Bayard, I'm so 

honoured to be an instrument in telling his story in some way. He 

is someone we NEED to be talking about and learning from. 

BL!: What do you prefer, performing or creating? 

A: They are one and the same thing, and I am in a state of 

constant gratitude that I can do both. Both are like meditation 

for me and keep me simultaneously grounded and in a state of 

ecstasy. What a blessing! 

Head to bidolito.co.uk now for an exclusive stream of Amique’s 

brand new EP Oh! The Ecstasy, and to read the full transcript of this 

conversation. 

soundcloud.com/amique

LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAl FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA 

26 + 27 SEPTEMBER 2014 - Camp & Furnace / blade factory liverpool 

- FRIDAY 26 sept - - SATURDAY 27 sept - 

SUUNS. 

ALLAH-LAS. 

T HE BESNARD 

LAKES. 

W OLF PEOPLE. 

ZOMBIE ZOMBIE. 

AMEN DUNES. 

AL LOVER'S SACRED DRUGS. 

ASTEROID #4. BARBEROS. 

BLACK BOMBAIM. BLACK MEKON. 

THE EARLY YEARS. FORMES. 

HELLSHOVEL. HOLY WAVE. 

JIBOIA. LES BIG BYRD. 

KLAUS JOHANN GROBE. 

PETE BASSMAN. POW!. 

PURPLE HEART PARADE. 

PLANK!. SPECTRES. 

SPINDRIFT. SUDAKISTAN. 

THOUGHT FORMS. 

THE VACANT LOTS. 

YOUNGHUSBAND. ZHOD. 

THE CHIMES OF BIG BEN: 

richard norris. 

Justin Robertson. 

Bernie Connor. 

Richard Hector-Jones. 

SONIC CATHEDRAL 'PSYCH 

FOR SORE EYES 2' 

LAUNCH HAPPENING. 

PNKSLM RECORDINGS 

SHOWCASE 

GOAT. 

WOODS. HILLS. 

SLEEPY SUN. 

WHITE HILLS. 

GRUMBLING FUR. 

C HRISTIAN BLAND & 

THE REVELATORS. 

ANTHROPROPHH. BED RUGS. 

BONNACONS OF DOOM. 

CAMERA. CANTALOUPE. 

CHEVAL SOMBRE. 

THE GLASS MOTHS. 

GNOD. HALF LOON. ISLET. 

THE JANITORS. LAY LLAMAS. 

the lucid dream. MAZES. 

MOODOÏD. NUEVA COSTA. 

ONE UNIQUE SIGNAL. 

ORVAL CARLOS SIBELIUS. 

QUILT. SATELLITI. 

SEPTEMBER GIRLS. 

STRANGE COLLECTIVE. 

SUDDEN DEATH OF STARS. 

THEO VERNEY. TEMPLE SONGS. 

TEETH OF THE SEA. 

TRAAMS. WHISTLEJACKET. 

TRANSMISSIONS FROM 

THE OUTER REALMS 

PRESENTED BY 

ROCKET RECORDINGS 

FT. NOTHING IS DJs 

(CherryStones, 

Cage & Aviary, Little Dirty, 

Chris Reeder) 

EXCLUSIVE DAN TOMBS IMMERSIVE INSTALLATION. 

ADVENTURES AT THE OUTER REACHES SYMPOSIUM + 

TUSK FESTIVAL CURATED CINEMA PROGRAMME. 

PICCADILLY RECORDS WORLD OF PSYCHEDELIC WAX WONDERS. 

PZYK SKREEN PRINT WRKSHP. 

Plus...a myriad of cosmic audio voyages, installations and visual sensations. 

FULL DETAILS, DAY + WEEKEND TICKETS AT LIVERPOOLPSYCHFEST.COM 

Tickets also available in person from Probe Records (Liverpool), 

Piccadilly Records (Manchester) & Jumbo Records (Leeds).

12 


"Quality, Fun, Chaos" 

Words: Jack Graysmark / @ZeppelinG1993 

Illustration: Gareth Arrowsmith / garetharrowsmith.com 

Though the last edition of LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK in 2011 

might seem like a blur for the many thousands who attended, 

the event will always throw up personal memories. Maybe you 

attended one of a plethora of free shows that have characterised 

the extravaganza since day one. Maybe you lost your mind at one 

of the legendary Closing Parties. Maybe, just maybe, you saw your 

favourite band during a particular edition, or found your new one. 

Three years might not seem like a long time, but in between bands 

have risen and fallen, venues set up and closed down, and giants 

have walked our streets (twice). When news broke that the largest 

indoor winter festival in the UK was being resurrected for its tenth 

instalment after a two-year hiatus, it wasn’t just the usual wave of 

excitement that permeated the air: there were smiles warmed by 

nostalgia, as if an old friend had come back to town. 

This autumn, Liverpool Music Week entices us in from the 

windswept streets to gorge upon its very special tenth-edition 

treats. Camp and Furnace is where it all begins this time round, 

with a thrill-packed opening party on 23rd October which features 

the snakily funky electronica of CARIBOU, which acts as the 

perfect re-introduction of a festival that’s been a beacon of quality 

to regular gig-goers since its inception. The following night sees 

leftfield rock titans MOGWAI headline the same venue for a show 

with ATP curated by (and featuring) FOREST SWORDS, with a trio of 

Liverpool’s own avant-garde creators MUGSTAR, EX-EASTER ISLAND 

HEAD and CLINC (DJ set) also on show. The party then stretches 

to the O2 Academy as Liverpool Music Week plays host to WILD 

BEASTS (30th October, in association with Evol) and THE WAR ON 


DRUGS (4th November, in association with Harvest Sun). Add in 

to this the ubiquitous Closing Party (more on this opposite) and 

we’ve the prospect of over 250 acts across 50 events. That’s a far 

cry from the handful of shows in one venue that launched the 

event in 2003; yet, eleven years later, it’s good to know that the 

same vision that started the process burns just as bright. 

Given that such good momentum had been built up over nine 

consecutive years, why pull the plug? Well, even Glastonbury 

pulls in the reins every now and then but, with new commitments 

demanding his attention, organiser Mike Deane decided to put 

Liars 

Hookworms 

things on hold – and he reckons the event is all the better for 

it. “I have pretty much run Liverpool Music Week as a one-manband 

for a few years; if I stop working on it, the whole operation 

shuts down! After the last edition, I began working for a London 

talent agency called Elastic Artists, and I certainly didn't want to 

be running the tenth edition of a festival I've worked on with 

blood, sweat and tears at a fifty per cent work-rate.” He remains 

adamant that letting the grass grow back has worked wonders 

for the event, even though a very tempting offer last year nearly 

broke the silence: “We actually had My Bloody Valentine lined-up 

for a 2013 headliner, which almost pulled us out of our hiatus. 

But the band dragged too long, and ultimately we decided it was 

better to hold off and go full-throttle in 2014.” 

It’s now back to business as usual; sure that sounds mundane, 

but why change such a successful formula? With each edition, 

Deane and his team endeavour to curate a line-up that balances 

acts that will deliver the most exhilarating performances with 

artists that have yet to tread on Scouse soil. In doing this, each 

event encourages a higher calibre of live performances, along 

with enticing gig-goers to open themselves to new bands, genres 

and live experiences. There are all kinds of emotions that burst 

forward when finding a new favourite band, and for ten days 

Liverpool Music Week is the ignition behind the flames. 

For those who aren’t as enthusiastic as others to try something 

new, the free shows step into the picture. A trademark staple 

across each edition, these events aren’t merely a taster, but a 

full five-course meal with a sparkler in your knickerbocker glory. 

“It’s proven to work extremely well for the venues, artists and 

sponsors over the past decade,” Deane enthuses about the free


shows. “We've had some incredible free shows when you 

look back: Florence & The Machine in Korova, Friendly Fires 

in Bumper and Wild Beasts in Alma de Cuba to name a few.” 

This edition sees The Kazimier stepping up as the festival’s 

hub as it hosts seven shows in as many days. The itinerary 

caters to everyone’s palette, from the gritty post-punk of 

EAGULLS to the boggling scree of HOOKWORMS. LIARS 

will conclude the series with a special Halloween closing 

party hosted by The Quietus, a close encounter of the 

experimental kind if there ever was one. With The Kazimier’s 

sterling reputation for accommodating an all-encompassing 

programme, the venue will demonstrate what the Liverpool 

live experience is capable of: an introduction for some, and 

a reminder for others. But this part of the programme is just 

one voice in the hubbub clamouring for your attention. 

One thing Liverpool Music Week isn’t always given due 

credit for is the scope of innovative commissions it has 

hosted during the last few instalments. This year sees 

Bristol producer VESSEL collaborating with the exhilarating 

IMMIX ENSEMBLE, a pioneering collective of forwardthinking 

musicians from across the North West. Liverpool 

AV promotions collective SYNDROME are also part of this 

collaborative process, conjuring up a backdrop of visuals 

in the beautiful Leggate Theatre at the University of 

Liverpool (22nd October). Given Vessel’s obsessive nature 

for highly detailed sounds, the result promises to be an 

intriguing blend of electronic and classical themes, and 

Deane sees the success of these commissions as being 

the beginning of a new initiative: “With these events as 

a stepping stone, the programme will continue to grow 

as the festival continues in future years.” The soil already 

seems fertile enough for London label Hyperdub Records, 

who’ve chosen to host a tenth anniversary showcase as 

part of the programme (KODE9 and COOLY G, 30th October 

@ The Kazimier). 

But, while there is a spectacular array of choice for you 

to ponder over, Deane now stresses the importance of 

restricting the number of shows during the festival’s run, 

contrasting with the 2009 edition where twenty-eight 

venues were running at the same time. This now means that 

punters are not overwhelmed by choice and each event has 

the best attendance possible. Here, going to see as much 

as possible doesn’t mean zigzagging from one event to 

another and accumulating a lot of stress along the way. 

Just as you’d expect from anything to come out of 

Liverpool, the sense of community saturates the festival’s 

genes. “In my years as an industry professional, I’ve not 

known a more exciting time for Liverpool,” confesses 

Deane. “The city is buzzing right now with hard-working, 

risk-taking individuals and collectives, gaining international 

recognition for themselves and the city as a whole.” The 

return of Liverpool Music Week will stand as testament 

to the tenacity of its contributors in devising such an 

imaginative and embracing series of events – and that’s 

even before the music starts playing. 

Liverpool Music Week runs from 22nd October to 4th 

November across a variety of venues. 

liverpoolmusicweek.com 

Wild Beasts 

Caribou 

Liverpool Music Week Closing Party 

The only tradition within the LMW Closing Party is its celebration of 

all styles, dipping toes in to new waters in pursuit of artistic vision; the 

rest is up for grabs. “I think that’s the appeal of it,” organiser Mike Deane 

states. “For the last one, we had a dozen stages across five floors of the 

Contemporary Urban Centre in the Baltic Triangle. It’d never been used on 

that sort of scale before, and it's going to take something pretty special 

to top that, but we think we've lined up something that could do the job. 

We want it to be an 'expect the unexpected' vibe with a solid programme 

of quality and varied music.” 

This year’s event will spread from Camp and Furnace to engulf the whole 

of Liverpool’s Baltic Quarter. From the pinpoints of the infamous Triangle 

to the more unfamiliar hideaways of Constellations and 24 Kitchen 

Street, if you can name it then you will likely find it on the programme. 

Though only a short ramble from the main city centre, the Baltic Quarter 

still invokes a mysterious amour among its visitors, making it the ideal 

setting for Liverpool Music Week to bow out; it encourages you to explore 

the event in a physical manner. 

Mercury Prize nominee NICK MULVEY (Constellations) and Glaswegian 

headliners CHVRCHES (Camp and Furnace) will both be making their 

Liverpool debuts at the party. For the latter in particular, considering the 

astonishing rise of the synth pop sensations, it is shocking that it has 

been this long coming. Having toured extensively since the release of 

their acclaimed 2013 debut, The Bones of What You Believe, this may 

be the last time to catch them before they retreat to plot out album 

number two. Following this is an electronic spectacle at 24 Kitchen 

Street headed up by Ellesmere Port’s EVIAN CHRIST, who cuts a dark path 

through alluring ambient sounds. This same showcase will also feature 

bewildering electro dazzler SOPHIE, and punk disco leader EMA. 

Elsewhere on the bill, BLACK LIPS (District) pair raw garage rock with 

radical theatrics. Seventh effort Underneath The Rainbow continues that 

journey down the path of well-orchestrated chaos, and you’re guaranteed 

to leave the party with numerous stories to divulge. Unsurprisingly, a 

crème de la crème of local talent adorns the roster too, with perhaps 

the most enticing showcase coming at The Blade Factory as VEYU host 

MOATS, HOOTON TENNIS CLUB and LIVES for another of their quasi- 

Factory I/O happenings. And over at the Scandinavian Church there’s the 

chance to get reacquainted with old mates ALL WE ARE, STEALING SHEEP 

and LAURA J MARTIN. 

You might dare argue that there is too much to cover at the Closing 

Party, but this is hardly a bad thing in this instance. You need a bit of 

frenetic madness when going out with a bang; if you want to take in the 

whole range you’ll just have to go along yourself. 

1st November / Baltic Quarter (various venues) 

CHVRCHES 

bidolito.co.uk

14 


H Y P N O T I C 

HUSTLING 

W I T H 

PEAKING 

L I G H T S 

Words: Laurie Cheeseman / @lauriecheeseman 

As 

PEAKING 

LIGHTS, 

husband 

and 

wife duo Aaron Coyes 

and Indra Dunis have been 

bubbling up in the underground 

for a while, and it seems that the wider 

world has finally caught up with them. They’ve been making 

music for years as parts of various outfits (including rumours of a 

Goth band in the early ‘00s), but this incarnation of their shapeshifting 

output is where they’ve found their comfortable groove. 

Whether it’s in the deliciously languorous dub of debut 936, or 

what they approximate as synth pop across much of new album 

Cosmic Logic, the pair have transmuted beautifully from album 

to album, giving each their own personality, but always with a 

unified fuggy, dubby feeling. 

No matter what the packaging is, the music that spews from the 

Coyes-Dunis household defies simple descriptions. “It just comes 

naturally. It’s trying to play back all the things we are influenced by 

and not having to be influenced by just one type of music,” Coyes 

tells us across a crackly transatlantic Skype line, refusing to let 

Peaking Lights’ aesthetic become something that’s easily pinned 

down. As with all aspects of their oeuvre, the duo actively avoid 

pigeonholing by eschewing the traditional trappings of psychedelic 

music, seamlessly assimilating disparate sounds into a new and 

unique whole. When proffered that their music is best listened to 

on headphones while walking around, allowing yourself to float 

away on the sonic landscapes into the little-remembered crevices 

in the mind, Coyes resolutely agrees. A perfect example of this is 

Telephone Call, something approximating a psychedelic take on 

dancehall and bubblegum pop, which will have you out of your 

chair and bouncing about in seconds. 

This aversion to sticking to one idea and one sound runs through 

all of their music: Peaking Lights exist as a resolutely analoguesounding 

band working in a digital world, whose music is best 

enjoyed as a whole piece. “Obviously we’re not fully analogue,” 

Coyes quips, “but the idea is that we mix the two. We mix the 

analogue and the digital and we try to make it its own thing. 


Both sound 

great, 

and 

each sounds 

good 

for 

their 

own 

reasons. 

We 

try and interpret 

them in a way 

that makes sense.” 

Moreover, they are 

almost quintessentially 

postmodern, 

cherrypicking 

musical ideas and 

aesthetics from the later 20th 

century through to the modern day. 

The discussion between how different 

music is now in the computer era compared to 

how it was in the days before we began pressing sounds 

to 12” records provides a tension that the band thrive on. “When 

we started off recording it was on half-inch tape, and as we built 

up our studio and got more gear we’ve gone [towards] using 

digital. There are great things about editing digitally, but then 

we’ll still bounce things to analogue to get things to saturate. It’s 

pulling and pushing in production to make a cohesive whole.” 

Intriguingly, this is how dance producers have worked for a 

long time, but Peaking Lights are clearly not a dance group. Or 

are they? “Part of it is that we are very influenced by dance music 

too – yet another thing we’re influenced by! We enjoy working 

from a home studio where we make the sound blocks. There are 

oscillators and weird sound machines that we source a 

lot of the sounds from, so a lot of it is homemade. 

There’s quite a bit at the production end of it 

that makes it actually sound musical.” Being 

a husband and wife team affects the way 

they think about music, and even the 

way they make it. Add into this equation 

an infant son – who already has a taste 

for dub reggae given the guest gurgles 

he contributes to Beautiful Son – and I 

wonder how large an impact the family 

unit has on the way they make music? 

“Having a child makes you massively more… 

more focused,” confirms Coyes. “In our case, that 

also means we are more focused on music and its 

power. And more intent on making music that makes people 

happy.” This also gives them an excuse to work from home, in 

the studio that the pair have been adding to over the past 18 

months. The setup, Coyes agrees, is liberating. “Making music this 

way affords so much more control.” 

Even in the 21st Century, where the internet means a producer 

in Toronto can make music that sounds like it comes from 

Croydon, music can still take on the sound of a place. Peaking 

Lights’ Cosmic Logic adheres to this notion, simultaneously hyper- 

and hypo-localised: it takes in sounds from across the globe, yet 

could have been made nowhere else but California. “I mean, we 

definitely have that solid West Coast thing going on. We take on a 

range of influences still, but it still has that feeling, that laid back 

thing. Music from the East Coast is more… punchy, but music from 

California is more relaxed.” 

Liverpool and the surrounding areas have always had a 

strong connection to otherworldly music, from its much-vaunted 

60s boom through to its modern day, electronic equivalents. “I 

definitely connect with the music being made here,” Coyes tells 

us, as he reminisces about his visit to Liverpool last September. 

“Forest Swords is just great, but I’m from a generation that still 

remembers The Beatles and how they started psychedelic music 

within the public consciousness. When I was wandering around the 

town I got a strongly working-class vibe and, with that blue-collar 

feeling to the city, it’s not really surprising Liverpool has had a long 

history of psychedelia, a necessary form of escape from workingclass 

conditions. It’s a reality of life. I myself am sober, but I’ve had 

experiences, and I think that’s important to expand your view of 

the world and open your eyes to see the world in new ways.” 

Peaking Lights are known for hypnotic, almost hypnagogic, 

live sets that sweep their audience into a zone others can rarely 

manage. Happily for us, Coyes and Dunis can induce these zenlike 

states in their mesmerising DJ sets too. As Peaking Lights 

Soundsystem, they helped to close the first night of last year’s 

Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia. “I 

loved that night so much. Because we were 

closing it, everyone was wasted. And 

because it was mostly disco and old 

house – real outsider dance music – 

that we were playing, it was a lot of 

fun.” Looking ahead to their October 

show at The Kazimier, Coyes confirms 

that they’re “working on something 

special, but we’re going to be playing 

mostly new songs off of Cosmic Logic. 

And possibly some even newer songs.” 

For a band who have never made a 

normal song in their career, this can only 

mean great things. Enjoy the cosmic party. 

Peaking Lights play The Kazimier on 25th October as part of 

Liverpool Music Week. 

Cosmic Logic 

is out on 6th October on Weird World Recordings. 

cosmiclogic.pl

16 


Words: Josh Ray / @Josh5446Ray 

Photography: Brian Roberts / brianrobertsimages.com 

These days, anyone with an acoustic guitar and an internet 

connection can pass themselves off as a singer/songwriter. 

With a seemingly endless abundance of ten-a-penny musicians 

clogging up gig listings, SoundCloud and even the high street, it 

has become increasingly difficult to find recognition amongst the 

masses. However, real talent has a habit of rising to the top, and 

the recent successes of Simon Maddison – also known as SILENT 

CITIES – are a case in point. 

With this talent comes a real sense of individuality, a stamp 

that helps Simon to characterise everything he does. The stark, 

chilling imagery of 1920s expressionist German cinema (think 

Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet Of Dr 

Caligari) is a perfect fit with the trademark Silent Cities sound: 

glassy, bruised and melancholic. There’s a Jeff Buckley-esque lilt 

to it as well, which draws in those who are perhaps put off by 

this visual construct. Simon’s striking falsetto singing style and 

refreshing humility in the face of praise have also helped win him 

the attention of a host of radio presenters, as well as his outsidethe-box 

songwriting, which holds a flagrant disregard for the 

blueprint strictly adhered to by many of his contemporaries. 

This approach made things quite difficult for Simon when he 

first started his foray into music. “I found working with bands really 

hard at the start, trying to get that style that I wanted because it 

was just weird shit, really.” Spurred on by the drummer of one of 

the many outfits in which he first cut his teeth, Simon started a 

project entirely of his own making back in 2010. “I felt I wanted 

to do something where it was just me and no-one else but I’d try 

to have a big, big sound. There are a few artists like that: Bradford 

Cox from Deerhunter, who was one of the big influences.” 

Taking its name from a track off Patrick Watson’s Just Another 

Ordinary Day LP, Silent Cities began as a series of bedroom 


experiments that provided Simon with the creative freedom he 

had long desired. “I’ve never been able to write with other people, 

I’ve always had to be very introvert with it,” he explains. “I’ve got 

all my equipment set up and I’ll just go in and sit down and have 

a little muck around. A lot of it just came from that really, just 

random sounds, random sections that slowly amalgamate.” 

After about a year Simon was able to turn these experimentations 

into his first release, the Dream EP and, although it fitted much 

more firmly within the confines of the folk aesthetic than his later 

work, it still exhibited early signs of his unorthodox approach to 

music. “I try not to be like anyone else but it is quite challenging. 

I think that did trigger the more leftfield approach; I didn’t want to 

be twee at all,” admits Simon. 

It was around that time that Silent Cities began its fruitful 

relationship with the multi-faceted Rebel Soul enterprise. “They’d 

been going for about a year or two,” recalls Simon, “but they 

were just starting to get into the wild stuff with Brazilica and the 

Voodoo Ball and all that.” Under their stewardship Simon was able 

to flourish, and he soon found himself in the midst of a whole 

network of like-minded creatives. “It’s given me the insight into 

[the process of] how to work as an artist. It’s not all competitive; 

it’s a community that benefits the arts in all forms.” 

As Simon integrated himself into this community he gradually 

began to open up the Silent Cities project to other musicians. 

“It’s taken me ages to get a group together,” he explains. “People 

have been saying for ages that I need to get a backline but I 

didn’t want drums and guitars and a typical kind of set-up.” The 

kind of backline Simon required came in the form of Luke Moore 

(Operation Lightfoot) on cello and Chris Cousineau on percussion. 

“I think they bring something to it, but largely I like to keep 

control of it,” Simon remarks. “From past experiences I know I 

need to be the one in control, but I do allow open discussion so it 

is a democracy in the group – I think even they see themselves as 

session musicians who are slowly coming to join the fold.” 

With Luke and Chris on hand to add colour and dimension to 

Silent Cities’ live show, Simon sought the help of Mario Leal to do 

the same in the studio. Working with the highly-revered producer 

– best known for his disparate work with Mumford & Sons and 

the Tea Street Band – Simon was able to refine his sound on the 

Eigenlicht EP. “Mario is like an artist in his own right in the studio.” 

notes Simon. “He’s into Boards Of Canada and stuff like that – a 

lot of really wild, wacky stuff – and he’s just kind of bringing the 

two sides together.” 

With his debut album Mdina – named after Malta’s “silent 

city” – in the works, Simon is looking to further his studio 

experimentation with Mario, whilst trying to ensure his music 

remains accessible. “It will go a bit leftfield, but at the same time 

it will be quite a commercial album,” he explains. “We’ve filtered it 

down to about six tracks, but then we’ll have interludes between 

them, which is going to be mainly written by Mario but using me 

and all the stuff I’ve got in the studio.” 

As well as working on his debut LP, Simon has been busy 

working with the formidable songstress Natalie McCool on a joint 

venture alongside the award-winning film company Clockwork 

Arts. “We’re combining both our sounds down the middle: noone 

is overbearing, so I’m really excited about that,” Simon adds, 

evidently enthused about the collaborative process. “The video 

itself is going to be really surreal and trippy.” 

Silent Cities play Sound Food And Drink on 18th October, as part 

of the Oxjam Liverpool Takeover. 

silentcitiesmusic.com

18 


Words: Patrick Clarke / @paddyclarke 

Illustration: Sam Wiehl / samwiehl.co.uk 

There’s a certain something to the humble 7” record that the 

vinyl resurrection overlooked this time around. As the alluring 

physicality of a meaty LP has in time proven itself irreplaceable, 

the old-fashioned notion of buying an actual single looks inert 

in the face of SoundCloud and Spotify – the romanticism of 

immediacy blunted by the internet’s oversaturation. Step 

forward GOD UNKNOWN RECORDS, the new label whose 

atypical approach looks to breathe the life of personality back 

into the 45rpm disc, to restore proper faith in a format that for 

others is a mere promotional platform. 

“When Mugstar started we very much wanted the 

immediacy of the 7”, and I’ve still got that inside me. I think 

there’s something really beautiful about it,” says Jason Stoll 

– God Unknown founder and bassist in the mettlesome psych 

rock outfit – when we meet him for a chat about the project. 

“It’s short-ish compared to an album format, and some of the 

bands involved, their songs often would last a lot, lot longer 

than they would on a 7”, so I think [it’s] just the essence of a 

short, sharp, shock.” 

Over the course of nearly a decade touring the continent 

with Mugstar and putting on shows with the Behind The Wall 

Of Sleep collective, Jason Stoll has amassed a pretty bulging 

contact book of far-out space rock merchants. God Unknown 

is making good use of these contacts, setting up a mouthwatering 

run of initial releases: White Hills, Teeth Of The Sea, 

Mind Mountain and Acid Mothers Temple are among those 

already signed up, each of whom takes a side on one of ten split 

7” records, to be released intermittently across the next twelve 

months to subscribers who pay an upfront £50 subscription. 

With Mugstar, Stoll has had his fair share of experience with 

labels, and from it acquired nothing but passion. “The labels 

we’ve been on, and are still having records released by, are 

labels that are done by people who love music and love the 

vinyl format. I think having that aesthetic and that love of vinyl 

behind what you do is vital. There’s always this lineage of 

people who just absolutely love what they do.” 

For Stoll, the idea behind God Unknown has long been 


something on which he’s been ruminating. “It was about 

twelve months ago I came up with the idea to do a label, and 

the idea of a singles club came up around the same time. It 

was sort of inspired by Sub Pop Records’ singles club, which 

was out, like, twenty years ago.” That famous string of releases 

gave birth to nascent sounds from the likes of Nirvana, Sonic 

Youth and Fugazi, and is now widely associated with the 

“Seattle Sound”, but for God Unknown the slant is more overtly 

psychedelic, for now at least. Stoll attributes the similar strains 

running through the roster to the personal connection at the 

heart of the label’s formation. “They’re basically just people 

I’ve connected with over the years and I’ve been privileged 

enough to put their music out… There’s continuity in that 

aspect, a lineage of psych rock or krautrock.” 

Indeed, the psychedelic scene is at the moment immensely 

fertile, and God Unknown can almost be looked upon as 

a chronicler of sorts. “I think it’s great that psychedelia is 

influencing things again,” says Stoll. “I don’t think psychedelic 

music has ever necessarily gone away, but I think it’s got a 

different take on it now compared to what it might have done 

in the ‘60s for example; the ‘60s was all about exposure to 

different sights and sounds and colours and experiences, but 

the music sort of stayed to a particular format, whereas the 

format of psychedelia now, I feel, is quite a vast, varied sort of 

musical genre.” 

There’s a definite link too with Rocket Recordings, the cult 

psych label whose roster includes a number of God Unknown 

alumni. “I know Johnny [O’Carroll] and Chris [Reeder] from 

Rocket quite well. I suppose the bands who are on their 

label [are bands] we’ve played with quite regularly. They’re 

people who are friends as well, like Anthroprophh, Teeth 

Of The Sea, Gnod.” It’s an exciting time for the label, which, 

after years of mainstream ignorance is finding widespread 

adoration thanks to its game-changing discovery of Goat, and 

God Unknown’s involvement is a welcome widening of their 

roster’s discography – each single is, of course, entirely new 

material. 

It’s that idea of putting psych on a 7” that’s most intriguing 

about God Unknown’s approach. The shortest song on Gnod’s 

latest album, for example, was over eight minutes in length 

– the longest was over seventeen. They built their sound on 

Herculean grooves and intense, sweeping soundscapes, free 

to roam amid the spacious confines of an LP; but, for God 

Unknown, that potency, that quaking, caustic energy is to be 

bottled and distilled, concentrated into the good old-fashioned 

“short, sharp shock”. “Some of the tracks are quite different to 

what the bands may do on their albums,” Stoll enthuses. “I 

feel quite honoured that all these people have been involved 

and are giving it a different take on what they do.” 

Enticing too is the fact that each record is a split single. 

Release one for example – out on 13th October – is a meeting 

of the aforementioned Gnod and the psychotropic swagger of 

Portland, Oregon’s Eternal Tapestry. Not only is it an affirmation 

of the project’s value, but it adds yet another angle. Though not 

all of the initial twenty names are yet released, the roster so 

far is a bona fide cornucopia. “We’re doing it as a split release, 

because I just thought it would be quite a nice idea to be able 

to have two bands who complement each other,” says Stoll, 

and amidst such a kaleidoscopic roster the collisions are sure 

to be astounding. 

It would also seem that this preliminary ten is only the 

beginning for God Unknown; even at this relatively embryonic 

stage the reception’s been remarkably positive. “I’ve already 

spoken to a couple of people about being part of the next ten, 

so they’ve agreed to do that already. As it stands, it’s selling 

really well.” The machine may only be just cranking into action, 

but Stoll clearly has grand schemes in mind: “There are so 

many bands who I’d love to work with. Obviously Goat would 

be an amazing thing to do… Endless Boogie too, who are 

like a krautrock boogie band, but absolutely amazing. Maybe 

Wooden Shjips as well.” 

Much of the excitement surrounding the label so far is about 

the project’s near-boundless potential. We can only speculate 

as to specifics (Stoll admits to Thee Oh Sees as being favourites 

of his), but what’s certain is the humble 7” is set for a revamp, 

and it’s going to be kaleidoscopic. 

God Unknown’s first split 7” (featuring Gnod and Eternal Tapestry) 

is released on 13th October. 

godunknownrecords.bandcamp.com

LIVERPOOL 

MUSIC WEEK 

THE TH EDITION 

OCTNOV 

TWITTER: @LIVMUSICWEEK 

FACEBOOK: OFFICIALLIVERPOOLMUSICWEEK

Oct 22 

Tate, Syndrome, Open Circuit Festival + Samizdat present 

VESSEL + IMMIX ENSEMBLE 

The Victoria Building, Liverpool University 

Free entry 

Oct 23 

Jack Rocks Liverpool 

LMW14, Evol, Camp and Furnace present 

The 2014 Opening Show 

CARIBOU 

EVIAN CHRIST - LIVE 

PATTEN - LIVE AV JESSY LANZA - LIVE 

Camp and Furnace - £20 adv 

Oct 24 


LMW14 and Camp and Furnace present 

ATP Liverpool 

MOGWAI 

FOREST SWORDS - LIVE 

MUGSTAR EX-EASTER ISLAND HEAD CLINIC (DJ) 

Camp and Furnace - £25 adv 

Oct 25 

LMW14 present 

Kazimier Grand Opening 


The Kazimier 

Free entry - Doors 7pm - arrive early* 

Oct 26 

LMW14 + Lost Art present 

EAGULLS 

The Kazimier 


Oct 27 

LMW14 + Harvest Sun present 

HOOKWORMS 

The Kazimier 


Oct 28 

LMW14 + Evol present 

THE ANTLERS 

The Kazimier 


Oct 29 

LMW14, Africa Oye and Obscenic present 

JOHN WIZARDS 

The Kazimier 


Oct 30 

LMW14 + Evol present 

WILD BEASTS 

MONEY 

O2 Academy - £16.50adv 

Oct 30 

LMW14 present 

Hyperdub 10th Anniversary Special 

KODE9 

COOLY G 

The Kazimier 


Oct 31 

LMW14 + The Quietus present 

Kazimier Closing Show 

LIARS 

The Kazimier 


Nov 01 


LMW14 presents 

The 2014 Closing Party 

CHVRCHES 

THE BLACK LIPS 

NICK MULVEY 

EMA EVIAN CHRIST SOPHIE NGUZUNGUZU 

MSSINGNO LAPSLEY HALEY BONAR SOUTHERN 

BIRD WE ARE CATCHERS THE TEA STREET BAND 

VEYU STRANGE COLLECTIVE BROKEN MEN 

HOOTON TENNIS CLUB + MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED 

Various venues, Baltic Triangle - £15 / £20 adv 

Nov 04 

LMW14 + Harvest Sun present 

THE WAR ON DRUGS 

O2 Academy - £16.50adv 

*OR Guarantee your entry with £10 Golden Ticket entry for 3 Kazimier shows at www.liverpoolmsuicweek.com 

SAMIZDAT

24 


Edited by Richard Lewis 

Previews/Shorts 

WOMAN’S HOUR 

Named after the long-running 

BBC Radio 4 programme, Londonvia-Kendal 

group WOMAN’S HOUR 

head to Liverpool in support of 

acclaimed debut LP Conversations. 

Signed to storied US indie label Secretly Canadian, the quartet are have won sizeable acclaim 

for their lithe-limbed and dream-like take on indie pop, which is much in evidence on excellent 

new single In Stillness We Remain. 

Arts Club / 17th October 

PETER J TAYLOR 

Bandleader and orchestrator 

PETER J TAYLOR brings his ‘pop-up’ 

ensemble of a guitar orchestra to 

town, for MelloMello’s latest 80p 

event. Taylor’s MO is to recruit local 

musicians on the day of the show and teach them their parts in the 12-guitar, 40-minute-long 

compositions. Expect luminaries from many of Liverpool’s current crop of talent to feature, in 

what can only be described as an experience. 

MelloMello / 4th October 

Cited alongside How To Dress 

Well and Holy Other for his take 

CYRIL HAHN 

on ethereal RnB, Swiss-born, 

Canada-based CYRIL HAHN has 

quickly amassed a reputation as one 

of the planet’s finest remixers. Winning critical approval for his own material alongside his 

innovative remixing work on an assortment of mega-selling artists, Hahn is on the road to 

support his lauded recent EP Voices. 

The Magnet / 7th October 

Tom Vek 

This month throws up a rare live outing for self-taught instrumentalist TOM VEK, which we recommend 

you do your damnedest to catch before another lengthy hiatus beckons. Breaking into the public 

consciousness with the highly admired 2005 LP We Have Sound, Vek created a niche of his own with his 

attitude-driven take on electronic punk rock. Often placed alongside the now defunct LCD Soundsystem, 

acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, search parties were beginning to form after Vek dropped off the 

radar for the remainder of the decade. Finally resurfacing a full six years later, the Londoner’s fortunes 

were swiftly restored with the quite brilliant second album Leisure Seizure. 

With many reviewers and listeners at the time wishing out loud that they hoped the follow-up 

wouldn’t take as long, third album Luck 

landed in June of this year. Inspired by the neural overload of the 

information age – a recurrent theme of Vek’s work – and Tom Wolfe's classic yuppie nightmare novel The 

Bonfire Of The Vanities, the LP received the same heavy praise as earlier instalments, with The Guardian 

hailing the platter as “deliciously unpredictable”. 

Described by Vek as “garage rock for the Pro Tools generation”, the meshing of beats and circuitry takes 

inspiration from sources as disparate as Prince, Kanye West and Sonic Youth. Able to move from dancefloor 

euphoria to small hours resignation, the album confirms that Vek is continuing to push boundaries a 

decade since his first single release. 

The Kazimier / 12th October 

DIGNAN PORCH 

Signed to revered Brightonbased 

label Faux Discx (home 

to Cold Pumas and Sauna Youth 

amongst others), DIGNAN PORCH 

create slacker pop gems that juxtapose 

melody and ramshackle rhythms to excellent effect. Third album Observatory, issued in June, 

won favourable comparisons to Wavves and Real Estate and saw the band maintaining their 

seemingly unstoppable tour schedule across the UK and Europe. 

Maguire’s Pizza Bar / 16th October 

KING CREOSOTE 

Recipient of huge praise for 

his recent LP From Scotland With 

Love, which accompanied the BBC2 

archive film documentary of the 

same name, KING CREOSOTE brings 

the album to life onstage at The Epstein Theatre. Best known for Diamond Mine, his 2011 

Mercury Prize-nominated collaboration with Jon Hopkins, Kenny Anderson is one of the 

UK’s most prolific and idiosyncratic singer-songwriters. 

Epstein Theatre / 8th October 

Perfectly suited to the 

subterranean depths of The Hold, 

CLOUD BOAT 

the murky electronica of CLOUD 

BOAT visits The Ship to showcase 

acclaimed recent LP Model Of You. 

Building on the promise of 2013 debut Book Of Hours, the pair have supplemented their 

skittering beats and twisting guitar lines with moments of James Blake-style melancholy. 

Main support comes from rising ambient duo D R O H N E. 

The Shipping Forecast / 12th October 

Liverpool Irish Festival 

Now in its twelfth year, the LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL returns this October to celebrate the city’s unique 

relationship with Ireland and showcase the finest in contemporary and traditional Irish culture. Held in 

various venues across the city, this year’s event is its biggest incarnation to date, with a variety of venues 

pressed into service. 

While the traditional music sessions in Pogue Mahone’s, Pete Kavanagh’s, the Caledonia and Kelly’s 

Dispensary continue, a new contemporary edge has been injected into this year’s music programme. 

Samhain, held in the stunning location of Sefton Park Palm House, takes place on 31st October, the effective 

equivalent of Hallowe’en in the Gallic calendar. With event organisers everisland creating a suitably 

All Hallow’s Eve atmosphere, macabre entities from the otherworld are set to possess the city’s most 

breathtaking venue for the occult ceremony. Musically, the line-up is a brilliant showcase of contemporary 

Irish invention in the theatre of glitchy electronica. DFA’s dancefloor beatmaker SHIT ROBOT (pictured) 

is joined by IDM producer BOXCUTTER, along with Liverpool-based beatmaker SERTONE. Two days prior, 

Static Gallery plays host to punk poet and performer JINX LENNON alongside multi-instrumentalist and 

drumming virtuoso RARELY SEEN ABOVE GROUND. The venerable St. George’s Hall, meanwhile, plays host 

to more traditional fare in the venue’s Concert Room, with folk quintet THE GLOAMING, bluegrass band 

WE BANJO 3, and jazz/world music five-piece MOXIE headlining on separate nights. 

Various venues / 23rd October – 2nd November 

bidolito.co.uk

Box Office 0151 709 4776 

everymanplayhouse.com 

Thanks to the City 

of Liverpool for its 

financial support

26 


Reviews 

St Vincent (John Johnson) 

ST VINCENT 

Arc Isis 

Harvest Sun @ O2 Academy 

“Sometimes when you laugh, you get a look 

in your eye and you look like a maniac.” Always 

centre of attention and never far from striking 

a pose, Annie Clark is the epicentre of chaos 

as ST VINCENT. From dragging her finger across 

her throat multiple times during Huey Newton 

to her refined ponderings on cosmic debt and 

nude magazines, the abundance of theatrics is 

overwhelming. It’s bamboozling, wonderfully 

oddball, and yet it is St Vincent, the ringleader 

of this madcap circus, that stops it from tipping 

over the edge. 

As such, the dramatics of ARC IRIS make the 

perfect prelude. Striking in a gold playsuit with 

glitter across her forehead, multi-instrumentalist 

Jocie Adams strives to bring out the story behind 

each song. With only Zach Tenorio Miller backing 

her, the songs of her self-titled debut are reduced 

to a stripped-back spectacle; often the pair face 

each other at opposite pianos, taking in their 

absorbing dream pop. Though it occasionally 

falters, it is enchanting at its best, and when 

both musicians whip out clarinets for a brief 

duet, you have to admire their determination to 

pull out all the stops. 

Suddenly, a burst of static permeates the room 

as a Stephen Hawking-esque voice announces 

“to maximise enjoyment of your evening, please 

refrain from digital capture”, which morphs into 

the blistering synths of Rattlesnake. Clark’s 

intention is clear: she wants you to indulge in 

tonight’s performance just as much as she does. 

Clad in a startling top of glittering eyes and 

lips, she begins by striking some sharp kung-fu 

moves before a roadie runs on with her guitar. 

For someone who exudes such a turbulent 

personality, the choreography that drives St 

Vincent’s performance is incredibly intricate, 

creating a performance where the record itself 

is only half the picture. 

Whatever the mood of the track, Clark 

personifies it. On the smooth RnB of I Prefer 

Your Love, she lays sprawled across a white altar, 

while Prince Johnny ends with an expanded 

guitar flourish before slowly collapsing, writhing 

onto the platform below her as a choir loop 

becomes more and more distorted. It’s savage, 

but a bit of pandemonium never spoiled the 

broth, especially when it is woven into such a 

well-balanced set. 

Her devoted backing band often help in 

completing the picture. On Birth In Reverse, 

her backing singer mimics St Vincent’s actions, 

swerving left and back depending on the bar. 

But as they are doused in darkness during the 

twisted sludge of Marrow, it is evident who the 

centre of attention is. Though she often beckons 

them forward, the mostly passive crowd are 

happy to admire the spectacle, but the frenetic 

foot stamping following the first curtain bow of 

Bring Me Your Loves shows that this does not 

mean they adore her any less. 

The sheer scale of St Vincent’s vision is 

beautifully unveiled in the live setting, and 

the Tulsa native is undoubtedly grateful for her 

support; against the deep, mechanical bassline 

of Your Lips Are Red, she creates a poetic 

description of each player, building them up to 

thunderous applause. Suddenly it’s over, and 

not a David Byrne collaboration in sight. God 

knows what spirit possesses St Vincent, but 

when it comes with such mystery, you can’t help 

but want some of it. 

Jack Graysmark / @ZeppelinG1993 

Your Bag? 

Catch Loved Ones @ Sefton Park 

Palm House on 11th October 

LIMF Summer Jams 

Sefton Park 

The Saturday It's Liverpool stage at LIMF turns 

out to be a bit of a mixed bag. The sometimesgimmicky 

KAVEZ lead into the inoffensive, 

unimaginative, background skiffling of THE 

HUMMINGBIRDS. This isn't even enough to raise 

a yawn until they finish with a culturally tonedeaf 

impersonation of Folsom Prison Blues, 

which is a less interesting an interpretation than 

those delivered by Cash-covering buskers easily 

found on Houghton Street or under Lime Street 

Station. 

BROKEN MEN follow, a band who don't need 

to be a ten-piece: the trumpet, out of their 

recently acquired brass section, sounds wimpy, 

and the backing singers are overwhelmed by 

lead Bob Westhead, whose muscular vocals 

boom and reverberate like a self-consciously 

hetero Bowie or Lou Reed. The snappy licks and 

occasional melodies are good enough to pose 

the question: are Broken Men Franz Ferdinand 

but actually good? And is that damning with 

faint praise? 

THE PROBES begin their set with a Syd 

Barrett-esque sonic feedback loop that coheres 

into an effective funk bassline, whilst the synth 

continues to oscillate between digestible pop 

and aphotic space rock. Take Hold, their second 

track, features simple lyrics delivered in the 

confident, portentous manner that has drawn 

comparisons with Ian Curtis' similarly foreboding 

air. Curtis, however, was perhaps more adept at 

holding such an atmosphere without his voice 

wavering under the strain, whereas lead singer 

Jack Green's is slightly suffering by the third 

number. 

It's the dissonant synth that separates The 

Probes from the rest of the pack, however, and 

this continues to waver and screech between 

tracks as though we're trying to tune our heads 

into a frequency from another universe where 

prog never disappeared up its own arse. More 

Curtis-parodying lyrics (“Christ won't save you/ 

Religion won't save you...”) in the last song, Glass 

Prison, are almost enough to call that judgement 

into question, but even then one can't deny the 

strength of The Probes' astronomic project: even 

their jangles sound like they're locking the door 

and turning out the lights on the universe as 

entropic heat death sets in. 

SUGARMEN are a breath of fresh air for most 

bidolito.co.uk

LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAl FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA 

LIVERPOOL PSYCH FEST + 

PRESENT 

France at Liverpool PSYCH FEST 

MOODOïD – Le Monde Möö 

Saturday 27th September – 4.45pm 

“Sexy and sensual without being salacious… 

sincerely ridiculous and fun without being silly or slight.” Line of Best Fit 

“It’s quite brilliant and rather mad” NME 

Label: Entreprise/Sony RED 

www.lesdisquesentreprise.fr 

 

ORVAL CARLOS SIBELIUS – Super Forma 

Saturday 27th September – 8.15pm 

 

 

Record Collector 

Label: Clapping Music 

www.clappingmusic.com 

 

ZOMBIE ZOMBIE – Loubia Hamra 

FRIday 26th September – 1.30Am 

 

 

 

Label: Versatile 

www.versatilerecords.com 

 

Available at Liverpool Psych Fest: 

Limited 7” 

Orval Carlos Sibelius - Asteroids 

B/W Zombie Zombie - The Beach 

(New Order Cover) 

For more information on the festival: 

www.liverpoolpsychfest.com 

For more information on French music in the UK: 

www.frenchmusicuk.co.uk

01 

02 

03 

05 

07 

08 

09 

10 

12 

15 

16 

17 

18 

20 

21 

22 

23 

OCTOBER 

HEYMOONSHAKER £5 

JUNGLE BROTHERS £15 

CLUB 

ABANDON SILENCE w/DEETRON £15 

SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND £13.50 

PHANTOM BAND £9 

TRAVELLING BAND £8 

LONE (LIVE AV) feat. KONX-OM-PAX £10 

RIOT JAZZ £7/10 

TOM VEK £11 

ALL WE ARE £6.50 

YOUNG BLOOD BRASS BAND £10 

PRIDES £7 

---------------------------- 

THE HERBALISER w/FINGATHING £12.50 

JERUSALEM IN MY HEART £6.50 

REAL ESTATE £14.50 

ROLLER TRIO £8 

DEAD PREZ £13.50 

--------------------------------------------------------------- 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK 2014 

£10 GOLDEN TICKET Guarantees entry to 3 

shows of your choice 


EAGULLS 

HOOKWORMS 

THE ANTLERS 

JOHN WIZARDS 

HYPERDUB feat. KODE9, COOLY G 

LIARS 

LTD. 

FREE 

TICKETS 

of the audience at this point, with their strong 

choruses, upbeat tempos and snappy lyrics. 

Tracks like It's All Right are music to pop your 

collar up and strut to, which is exactly what 

the crowd begins to do; even for the cynics 

impatiently waiting around for Bird's bill-topping 

set, the vocals are a ball of sucrose that keeps 

threatening to burst in the back brain. Strangely 

enough, it's possible to detect some desert 

textures creeping into this rendition of You Get 

What You Deserve, which suggests someone in 

the band spent their teens listening to Kyuss or 

perhaps the Handsome Family, but we're safely 

back into pop-punk with Fat Cats, which sounds 

like a Violent Femmes B-side. These are, by and 

large, tight little jams, with everything holding 

together really well. 

BIRD's unique brand of catastro-folk seems to 

gather darkness with each live performance. By 

the time they reach the stage, the sun is bearing 

down and Sefton Park is mud and grass in a clay 

oven, but for anyone listening to this unique 

Wirral four-piece, it's raining at 3am on an empty 

road beset with gloom. 

English folk has always had a certain thematic 

darkness to it, from suicides to honour-killings, 

but Bird's is more alluring and closer to the 

elements – textures here call to mind gentle 

surfs and fogs across hillsides. This is how Bird 

have, like Eliza Carthy, occasionally attracted the 

unwanted attention of far-right fans like Nick 

Griffin, who have mistaken their atmospheric 

evocation of country landscapes for back-tothe-soil 

ur-fascism, or folk for Volk. These are 

unfortunate occupational hazards for anyone 

crafting music of this sort, but Bird, no Death 

In June-esque rightwing revivalists or political 

traditionalists, should easily escape these 

associations. 

After a melancholic cover of I Wanna Be 

Adored, Bird up the tempo with Sea Of Trees. 

This is a consummate lesson in set progression, 

flexing the talons that have only been hinted at 

before. That road isn't deserted any more, but the 

scene of some dark pursuit, the light-rainy skies 

now split with thunder. Bird brew a storm and 

then revel in it. They summon ghosts and then 

dance with them. 

Laurence Thompson 

Sunlight ripples across the morning grass, 

which is rugged and battered from yesterday’s 

crowd, inviting us early birds to settle comfortably 

before the plateau of the It’s Liverpool stage is 

occupied en masse. That being said, it’s mostly 

takeaway staff at their stalls who clap gamely 

along to SUB BLUE. Mr Blue, or the rebranded 

Tyler Mensah, is consistent: a self-proclaimed 

experimentalist, the seventeen-year-old excels 

during Your Call’s predatory snap and bop, and 

brings his own shade of accomplishment to 

modern standards by Kendrick Lamar and Drake. 

He changes the expletive in Bitch Don’t Kill My 

Vibe to “please” (“Bitch, please!” you want to 

shout). Quite perfunctorily, he also repeats the 

address of his SoundCloud page several times, 

and leaves without any blemishes tarnishing his 

professional image. There’s that saying: show me 

the boy at seven and I will show you the man; 

I’d say, give the boy another ten years and a 

microphone, and stick ‘PR’ on the front of it. 

SOHO RIOTS try their very best to be the 

typical indie lads, and succeed with aplomb. Their 

invention is nothing more than stringing Andy 

Woodhouse’s drawn-out voice over clattering, 

manicured riffs, a bit of familiar and indistinct 

fun swallowing the band’s chance to break 

out into something truly surprising. Who’s Your 

Man builds to what could be a tremendous two 

minutes of spite; instead, they lurch and back off, 

not quite ready to pierce the heart or, for that 

matter, pump much blood around it. 

MIND MOUNTAIN plug in with no bullshit. While 

it’s bizarre to experience the trio’s great swirling 

tempest in an environment where kids stumble 

to and fro with ice cream on their noses, they 

win over the thickening crowd, forcing TAYLOR 

FOWLIS to be extra charming when she appears. 

Not like it’s hard – candlelit dates already have a 

new aphrodisiac, as she finds a way to channel 

irresistible amour, yet never spares the tragedy, 

the essential kind, of ex-lovers and painful 

instincts. She’s sweet, expressive, and one to 

watch. 

Josh Potts / @joshpjpotts 

Steve Levine’s Assembly 

Point Sessions 

St George's Hall 

St George's Hall has been the site of many 

important cultural events during its history: Charles 

Dickens, for instance, was known to frequently give 

readings here. Its grandiose interior and placement 

in the city make it one of the more impressive 

Liverpool landmarks, and such considerations 

lend an air of both intrigue and slight trepidation 

to tonight’s proceedings. The first marquee event 

of the annual LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL MUSIC 

FESTIVAL, this evening's show promises to be a 

showcase of national and local talent, intended to 

be intimate and insightful. 

Kicking off the event is MARK KING from 

Level 42 who, backed by a band, delivers a 

fairly overwrought version of Sunshine of Your 

Love. Utilising his signature brand of slap bass, 

it is essentially a 10-minute bass solo, and an 

unimpressive start to the evening. 

All is not lost, however, as King's performance 

is followed by an accomplished set from local 

songstress NATALIE McCOOL, backed by, among 

others, Suede guitarist BERNARD BUTLER. Her 

meticulously-constructed pop songs, performed 

with care and passion, confirm what many in the 

city already know: that McCool is destined for 

great things.

1 HESKETH ST 

AIGBURTH, LIVERPOOL 

L17 8XJ 

020 7232 0008 

For all musicians 

who play live who record who write and compose 

theMU.org 

@WeAreTheMU

30 


Reviews 

But the night is not merely geared around 

performance, and in between sets presenter 

STEVE LEVINE invites the artists onto a smaller 

stage, set up to resemble a recording studio, to 

add parts to a rendition of Ferry 'Cross The Mersey. 

It is a nice touch that offers those unacquainted 

with the recording process an inside look at the 

operations of a respected producer. 

The theme of the sessions is collaboration, 

and as TIM BURGESS of The Charlatans takes 

to the stage he is joined by a host of other 

talents including backing vocals from McCool, 

singer/songwriter MARY EPWORTH and reggae 

musician HOLLIE COOK. The ensemble provide 

the highlight of the evening. Burgess is arguably 

the more interesting songwriter present at the 

event, straying furthest from the pop sensibilities 

of the other artists, and the combination of this 

indie legend and the sumptuous female backing 

vocals creates an enjoyable aesthetic. 

After a solo outing from Cook, headliner BOY 

GEORGE emerges, clad in a full camo-jumpsuit, 

to rapturous applause. Boy George is pretty much 

guaranteed to pull a crowd wherever he goes, 

but it is also his career-spanning collaboration 

with Levine that sees him here tonight. The 

two worked together on the majority of Culture 

Club's albums, including the highly regarded 

Colour By Numbers. 

With a backing band consisting of all 

of tonight's performers, George puts on a 

somewhat light-hearted but highly enjoyable 

show. His reggae-infused songs suit the voice 

and movements of his goddaughter, Hollie 

Cook, perfectly. 

The peaks of the set are, perhaps predictably, 

hit singles Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? and 

Karma Chameleon. Both songs are delivered 

and received with great enthusiasm, making 

for a pleasant atmosphere inside this most 

grand of venues. 

After a heartfelt speech from Steve Levine 

espousing the city’s many virtues, it is time to 

leave. A concept that was at first glance hard to 

imagine working has been successfully realised 

tonight, and it is a credit to Levine and the 

performers that it came off so smoothly. 

Alastair Dunn 

Seven Streets Presents 

You Are Here 

The Palm House 

While there is a smattering of tribute acts on 

the bill at LIMF, the event seems to be moving 

in the right direction. It is heartening to see 

that it has tried to represent the contemporary 

throughout the line-up, and perhaps the most 

intriguing offering of the bank holiday weekend 

is YOU ARE HERE, a Seven Streets commission 

that commemorates a hundred years since the 

beginning of World War I. Given a theme of 

‘Home’ to set against the sombre backdrop of 

conflicts past, artists from the UK, France and 

Russia collaborated on a performance piece that 

was, to say the least, extremely ambitious. 

Understandably, given the nightmarish 

amount of organising required for such an epic 

undertaking, the event doesn’t go off without a 

hitch. However, You Are Here is as much about 

creation and communication as it is about 

the final performance, and the wide range of 

influences that blend of nationalities brings 

together creates something special. 

BILL RYDER-JONES begins the piece with a 

lilting, fragile piano melody, which is eventually 

Boy George (John Johnson) 

complimented with a string quartet from the 

MANCHESTER CAMERATA. The performance ebbs 

and flows, with all the performers bringing their 

own distinctive sound. MOONGAI follow for a 

further development, adding rich Gallic vocals 

and a glitchy electronic soundscape to the more 

traditional musical elements already present. 

KOF comes on next and, once his sampled, 

erratic beat is matched by the strings, he 

delivers a powerful performance. An emphasis 

on the vocals at this point draws attention to his 

incredible lyrical ability, as he sings of war and 

memories. NOONWRAITH introduces a much 

heavier element with her initial contribution, 

again bringing another dimension that makes 

the music richer. At times there are lulls, 

falling back to the strings, piano or samples of 

recording, before the next section of the piece, 

each led by a different member of the ensemble. 

All three vocalists sing in close harmony towards 

the end, mixing languages and musical styles 

with an almost precocious air. The music is 

powerful and, within the context of World War I 

and the wider backdrop of current world events, 

emotionally charged. Given the furore over the 

council’s use of G4S for this event, it is at times a 

little uncomfortable as well. However, as those 

who participated in the event have said, this 

has made the show that much more relevant. 

Politically aware events in Liverpool do not sit 

comfortably with questionable council policies, 

but it is to be hoped that the former helps to 

overcome the latter for future events in the city. 

Overall, the switching of languages really 

encapsulates the collaborative spirit of You Are 

Here, a project that celebrates creativity. Poetry 

and art installations also help add to the feeling 

of a wide-reaching artistic effort, rather than 

just another gig. Blurring the lines between 

nationalities and blending such diverse musical 

styles was a brave vision, and a difficult one to 

achieve, but it has come off in the end, achieving 

something memorable and praiseworthy. 

Migration Music 

The Everyman Theatre 

Paul Riley 

Liverpool is a city that has become 

synonymous with new grassroots musical 

You Are Here (Glyn Akroyd) 

bidolito.co.uk

! ! % 

% 

 

 

 

!" !" !" # # # 

 

$%&'($')(*& 

$%&'($')(*& 

$%&'($')(*& 

+ + 

& & 

, 

, 

, 

-!. 

-!. 

-!. 

/ / 

' ' ' ( ( ( +, +, +, 

$.'# 

$.'# 

$.'# 

'* '* '* 0, 0, 0, 

 

/ / / 1 1 1 ! 

! 

! 

.! 

.! 

.! 

$ $ $ !2#( 

!2#( 

!2#( 

+ + 

. )! 

)! 

*% 

*% 

*% 

 

'&3 '&3 .4 

.4 

#5&6'#6* #5&6'#6* #6* 

#6*

32 


Reviews 

talent and tonight’s performance of SENSE OF 

SOUND’s Migration Music is a prime example of 

this accolade. From the off, we – in the packedout 

Everyman Theatre – are instantly stimulated 

by a scattering of chairs on a dimly lit stage. 

Already, this stark image mirrors the complex 

issue with which we are to be presented this 

evening: the decay of the mind. 

The show’s narrative revolves around a care 

worker whose mother has been diagnosed 

with early-stage dementia. The monologue 

helps give the show structure and introduces 

the most impressive part of the evening’s 

performance: the songs. Sense Of Sound are an 

award-winning Liverpool-based musical group 

who are well known for their vocal diversity 

and impressive live shows, and tonight’s 

performance is a fantastic illustration of why they 

are so respected throughout the city. Embarking 

on a journey through musical memory, we are 

treated to intelligent arrangements of music 

ranging from Bob Marley to Joni Mitchell. Lead by 

the metronomic beat boxer SHLOMO – dressed 

like a geography teacher on a school trip – the 

performance slickly moves in and out of theatre 

and music under the gaze of an impressive 

collage of lighting. The overall concept of 

tonight’s show is the notion that music and 

memory are entwined and embedded together 

within the mind and Sense of Sound’s vast 

assortment of music linked with some poignant 

visuals expresses this perfectly. 

However, the best part of the show is ironically 

the most disruptive to the evening’s structure. At 

the halfway mark, the aforementioned Shlomo 

treats us to an example of why he has become 

successful as a mainstream beat boxer. With 

the help of Sense Of Sound, he improvises a 

‘new song’ using his team of singers as musical 

instruments, calling their voices in and out of 

the improvised piece. The segue is entertaining 

and has everybody up on their feet clapping 

like at the finale of a slick pantomime. The only 

problem is that this isn’t the end of tonight’s 

proceedings and we have to jump awkwardly 

back into the murky waters of brain disease and 

family loss. 

Migration Music is fantastic in parts but 

where it really struggles is in defining what 

it actually is. Is it theatre? Is it cabaret? Is it a 

showcase of musical talent? At times, the show 

feels a little confused, fleeting from musical 

numbers to poems to monologues. However, 

Migration Music is ambitious and it has all the 

right elements for a fantastic thought-provoking 

evening. The heartbeat of the show is powerful 

and it doesn’t come from Shlomo’s halftime 

show or the ambling monologue; it comes from 

Fat White Family (Stuart Moulding / @OohShootStu) 

the brilliance of Sense of Sound, who bring 

real talent and performance to The Liverpool 

International Music Festival. I hope you’re taking 

notes, Shaggy. 

FAT WHITE FAMILY 

The Growlers – The Wytches 

Paddy Hughes 

Harvest Sun @ The Kazimier 

In amongst the swell of austerity measures, 

increased budget cuts and a collective tightening 

of purse strings, a triple headline show must 

seem to some as borderline over-indulgence. 

Indulgence and hedonism, however, is what 

I suspect much of this sold-out audience is 

here to revel in. For what would be a usually 

inauspicious Monday night, the floor is well 

packed-out before a note is struck and there is 

an audible buzz from the outset. Everyone is 

brimming with excitement, like the circus has 

just pulled into town. I suspect much of this 

excitement has been stoked by the reputation 

preceding FAT WHITE FAMILY. Billed by the 

Quietus' own John Doran as the best young rock 

band in the world, their live shows have already 

been propelled into the world of myth. Did they 

really bring a donkey into a show? Are they all 

constantly smoking crack? Will I get a punch 

in the face? All questions we're hoping will be 

answered tonight. 

Opening act THE WYTCHES certainly don't pull 

any punches. The young Brighton-based trio are 

fuelled by an endless energy and angst. Finding 

themselves in the middle of a tour in support of 

their debut album, their star is rapidly rising and 

they have already been booked for a headline slot 

later in the year. Tracks like debut single Digsaw 

highlight the trio’s greatest strengths: a searing 

wall of distortion tempered by angular melodies, 

slick but sickly bass lines and thunderous, 

relentless drums. The tracks are a contradiction 

of discordant and catchy. Most songs hinge on 

their volume and force and even the moments 

of restraint seem to serve the inevitable return 

of the crushing guitars. They would do well 

to develop beyond their decidedly Bleach-era 

Nirvana-centric sound pallet, but they're certainly 

a band with a bright future. 

With barely enough time for a cigarette, 

the second of tonight’s triple-header take to 

the stage. California's THE GROWLERS roll into 

town with a strong live reputation of their 

own. Sandwiched between the viscera of The 

Wytches and the carnage of The Fat Whites, their 

unique brand of klezmer-tainted garage rock 

affords the packed-out crowd an opportunity to 

cool off. The biggest cheer of the set comes for 

One Million Lovers from 2013's Hung At Heart. 

The song serves as a perfect summation of the 

Growlers sound: skewed but immensely catchy 

melodies, off-kilter rhythms and a slovenly, yet 

refined vibe. 

By the time Fat White Family appear, most 

of the crowd are forcing their way to the front. 

Taking to the stage one band member down and 

bottle of water in hand, they don't look as nearly 

ready for a ruckus as the crowd but it would 

seem even on an off day, the band can set off 

a crowd unlike anyone else. Opening track 

Auto Neutron, with its chant-along chorus and 

crushing organ lights the powder keg crowd. Is 

it a Doors rip-off? Maybe, but when it's this fun, 

who cares? Perhaps their reputation is doing 

their job for them tonight but lead singer Lias 

Saoudi, with his undeniable crooked charisma, 

certainly plays his part, whipping the crowd into 

a frenzy. This may be an off day, but the band are 

still livelier than most. By this point, thanks to a 

relentless touring schedule and an appetite for 

consumption, they must be running on fumes. 

How long can they keep it up? Who knows – 

take the chance to see them when you can. 

FESTIVAL NUMBER 6 

Portmeirion 

Dave Tate 

I didn't expect to find myself at FESTIVAL 

NO. 6 in 2014. Last year's torrential downpour 

left some deep psychological scars, but the 

opportunity to see the beautiful landscape of 

Portmeirion without a waterproof pulled tight 

over my eyebrows was too good to turn down. 

Music may not be my main motivation – last 

year's must-see list was much longer – but my 

interest is piqued before too long. 

The first name ringed in my programme is 

NENEH CHERRY, and she bounds on stage ready 

for a party. Her new album and its collaborators, 

Rocket Number 9, are on sparkling form, 

unravelling an insistent thread of electronica 

around her passionate voice, which is currently 

battling “a stonking cold”. Warm crowd support 

pulls her through an impressive performance. 

Has anyone ever been let down by a NORMAN 

JAY set? Once again, the selector supreme finds 

the perfect combination of funk, disco and rare 

groove to drain away inhibitions and get bodies 

moving with real abandon. BONOBO never quite 

reach full abandon but are no less captivating. 

The intimate twinkling melodies of Cirrus and 

the skittering Sapphire translate well to the big 

stage, achieving a blissful state that never slides 

into boring. 

Sadly, it's a feat LONDON GRAMMAR can't 

replicate, as they produce a headline show that 

delights their noticeably younger fans without 

ever threatening to gain new ones. Despite 

bringing an orchestra to compliment Hannah 

Reid's soaring vocals, their facsimiled emotion 

is a bit too calculated. Stay Awake feels like an 

impossible challenge rather than the elegiac 

anthem it's trying to be. 

One-man production wizards often find the 

transition from studio to stage a difficult one, 

and EAST INDIA YOUTH is sadly no exception. 

bidolito.co.uk

BOOK NOW: 0161 832 1111 

www.manchesteracdemy.net www.gigantic.com 

facebook.com/manchesteracademy 

@MancAcademy 

Tuesday 30th September 

 

Saturday 11th October 

Wednesday 15th October 

Saturday 18th October 

Friday 24th October 

Saturday 8th November 

John Waters Wednesday 12th November 

John Garcia Tuesday 4th December 

A Certain Ratio Saturday 13th December 

Friday 19th December 

 

Oxford Road, Manchester 

 

ito.148x117.MASTER.indd 1 17/09/2014 12:16

One man hunched over a laptop with a guitar 

hanging from his neck will always struggle to do 

justice to the absorbing, ethereal tales of Total 

Strife Forever – time to call in some friends. JANE 

WEAVER is a name well known to those keeping 

up with the current pysch explosion, but one that 

deserves to be known by many more. An elegant 

presence onstage with a siren's call for a voice, 

the Kate Bush comparisons are inevitable, but 

this Scouse chanteuse is no tribute act. Heavily 

leaning on her new album The Silver Globe, 

Weaver tethers her playful whimsy to a strong 

garage rock platform. 

BECK has been a star for twenty years now 

and clearly adheres to the Festival Headliner 

101 template. Start with big bombs (Devil's 

Haircut, Loser, 

The New Pollution), leading into 

upbeat mid-career material (Hell Yes, Get Real 

Paid), before the inevitable slowdown, featuring 

new album cuts (Blue Moon, Wave), gets the 

crowd singing as you bring it home (E Pro, Girl) 

and unleash the biggest bombs in the encore 

(Sexxlaws, Where It's At). The reason it's such a 

well-worn template is because it works. Even 

the “best festival we've played at” spiel seems 

genuine. There are miss-steps: Wave's doomladen 

dirge creates a momentum vacuum, and 

Where It's At's trip through the musical ages feels 

hammy. But Beck knows how we're meant to feel 

after a headline show, and achieves it with ease. 

A welcome collaboration arrives with 

Liverpool Sound City, who take over the Lost in 

the Woods Stage on Sunday. The attention, not 

to mention dignity, of the crowd is stolen by 

the BOOM BOOMS, a mischievous street theatre 

trio dressed in amazingly outlandish cabaret fat 

suits. Rubbing up against classic British reserve 

– literally in some cases – these women leave a 

Prosecco-drenched trail of chaos in their wake. 

Watching THE BRYTHONIAID WELSH MALE VOICE 

CHOIR should be a requirement of admission. 

They are the perfect musical embodiment of the 

festival – a mix of classical and contemporary, and 

wonderfully Welsh. Deftly stripping You'll Never 

Walk Alone of its tribal connotations and Muse's 

Uprising of its paranoia, their 50th anniversary 

celebration delivers a collective festival moment 

unsurpassed by anyone this weekend. MARTHA 

REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS are the weekend's 

most-anticipated performer according to my 

unofficial straw poll, and it's easy to see why. 

Motown is a perfect fit with sunshine and, while 

Martha's voice may not carry the power of old, 

she's lost none of her zest, and is a spritely 

conductor of love in the late afternoon. Later, 

seeking salvation from KELIS's disappointing 

rendition of a great collection of songs, I arrive 

at the I Tent in time to see TUNE-YARDS deliver 

the weekend's best performance. Awash with 

colour and spectacle, Merrill Garbus cracks open 

her thrillingly-inventive brain and welcomes 

us in with open, flailing arms. Powa's looped 

layers bloom like a day-glo daffodil, while the 

syncopated schoolyard chant of Water Fountain 

earns its status as the year's most joyous single. 

Clearly not learning the lessons of last night, 

I decide to give THE PET SHOP BOYS a chance. 

Neil Tennant's tone of glacial detachment is not 

what's required from a headline act, and is at odds 

with the opulent stage show that swirls around 

them. Not even the choirboys – brought out for 

a Go West finale – can save them. Luckily, there's 

an easy escape from the musical Mogadon, as 

the legendary DON LETTS is a few strides away, 

armed full of upbeat reggae-fied covers to give a 

cracking weekend the send-off it deserves. 

Maurice Stewart / 

theviewfromthebooth.tumblr.com 

STEPHEN MALKMUS 

& THE JICKS 

Cavalry 

Evol @ The Kazimier 

In many musical circles, Pavement are regarded 

as one of the best and most influential bands 

to have come out of the 90s and, though they 

never achieved the mainstream success of some 

of their contemporaries, their legacy lives on. 

Though Stephen Malkmus has done a lot in the 

years since they broke up to move away from 

Pavement, and to confirm his status as some sort 

of indie-rock demi-God, his past glory is still hard 

to ignore. Tonight, he proves to the capacity crowd 

that STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS are just as 

deserving of our attention as his previous outfit. 

To kick-off proceedings, local five-piece CAVALRY 

take to the stage for a fairly impressive and slowpaced 

set. The songs are well crafted and there is 

no lack of musicality, but at times it does become 

a little repetitive. This is not to suggest that it is 

a lacklustre display, and the blend of electronic 

sounds and guitar work is very easy on the ears. 

All in all, it's a solid showing, and they leave 

the audience salivating at the prospect of the 

headline act. 

Looking classically scruffy in his jeans, T-shirt 

and trainers, Stephen Malkmus leads out his 

band to thunderous applause. The crowd is a 

mixture of generation-X'ers and more recent 

disciples, all clearly familiar with Malkmus' work. 

Amid shouted requests for Pavement songs, 

which gets annoying quickly, the Jicks launch into 

a predictably memorable set. Malkmus fingers 

his way through his unconventional and jagged 

riffs mostly on a golden Les Paul. However, the 

massive variety of tunings he utilises means he 

requires very frequent changes of guitar, and 

there is a member of the road crew to the side 

of the stage constantly in the process of tuning 

several of them. 

Most of the songs are from the most recent 

LP, Wigout At Jagbags, with some other fanfavourites 

thrown in for good measure – the 

most infectious of which has to be the brilliantly 

named Stick Figures In Love. To be honest, there 

really is no filler, and pretty much every song is 

as good as the last.

Reviews 


Though Malkmus is obviously the brains 

behind the project, he is backed up by three 

other very able musicians who make up the Jicks. 

Joanna Bolme's basslines are both interesting 

and steady, creating a solid bed, along with 

drummer Jake Morris, for Malkmus' high-end 

guitar parts. Together with some similarly 

inventive guitar-laying from Mike Clark, they are 

a worthy four-piece, complimenting each other 

as musicians perfectly. 

As the booze flows, the Pavement requests 

increase and Malkmus responds by simply 

stating: “We'll play one at the end, but we're 

going to play a lot of Jicks' ones first. Because 

we think they're better songs.” Though there are 

many who would disagree with this statement, 

tonight's show has confirmed the quality and 

longevity of Malkmus' songwriting ability to 

all those present. Having said this, as the first 

strains of Stereo float from the PA system, it is 

hard to suppress a wistful smile. 

Alastair Dunn 

THE COSMIC DEAD 

Mind Mountain 

MelloMello 

As MIND MOUNTAIN prepare to support, 

things are looking good for THE COSMIC DEAD – 

MelloMello is nearing capacity, the atmosphere is 

as jovial as ever and the sound is as thunderous 

as the intimate confines will allow. Just as well 

then that Mind Mountain are an extremely 

loud band: with the group laying weight on 

immense, fiery riffs and lengthy instrumentals, 

of cramming such a harsh, cacophonous sound 

into such an intimate venue, something just 

isn’t right. Mind Mountain are, it must be said, 

a vastly talented set of musicians, and their 

efforts do deserve more. Though their tunes 

occasionally meander, each has its highs - the 

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks (Adam Edwards / @adamedwardsfoto) 

synth-led sections in particular see the threepiece 

border on euphoria – yet something fails 

to gel. It’s no disaster, but a shame to see an 

obvious talent fall slightly flat. 

it’s rare to hear Mello so deafening. The problem 

This is an unusual evening, and the peculiarity 

is, however, that things just don’t connect, 

is only to continue. It’s been well over forty 

though why exactly isn’t clear. Whether it be the 

minutes when The Cosmic Dead appear 

crowd’s unexpected apathy or the jarring effect 

following a soundcheck, by which time the 

previously considerable crowd have dwindled 

to a mere twenty or so. Perversely enough, 

while Mind Mountain struggled to ignite the 

venue, those who’ve stuck the night out are 

treated to something truly unbelievable, for The 

Cosmic Dead are an absolutely incredible live 

band. They open with a protracted sequence of 

jarring keys, each of the foursome entering in 

sequence. As they lurch into motion, hurtling 

drums begin to infuse the intensity that’ll soon 

become a perpetual presence, kicking in to an 

unrelenting force of psychedelic agility that just 

refuses to let up. 

Perhaps what’s most refreshing about The 

Cosmic Dead is their lack of self-awareness 

– though they lurch and stagger about the 

stage, eyes screwed shut and heads resolutely 

banging, none of it seems like shtick, none of 

it rehearsed; this is a band utterly absorbed 

and therefore completely uncompromising in 

their brutal psychedelia. Every jarring moment 

of noise and every ebb towards a lengthy 

crescendo feels not as if it’s just the next part 

of the song but as though it just makes sense 

as a seamless progression. So good are The 

Cosmic Dead that those left in the crowd seem 

utterly unaware of the departure of the majority 

of their comrades. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the initially 

unsteady gig has been delivered into safe hands 

with the headliners, but there’s still one more 

surprise to come. At almost exactly halfway 

through their set, their drummer leaves the 

stage, apparently bleeding from a hand injury. 

What follows is ten minutes or so of synth, 

essentially filler but atmospheric nonetheless, 

until a different drummer appears to finish the 

set. Fortunately enough, he’s just as proficient

36 


Reviews 

and the set continues with its all-consuming 

energy and reeling intensity. This has been an 

incredible set and, though a modest collection 

of people may have witnessed it, those who did 

can count themselves very fortunate indeed. 

Your bag? 

Patrick Clarke / @paddyclarke 

Your Bag? 

Catch The Wytches @ The 

Kazimier on 11th October 

THE GHOST OF A SABER 

TOOTH TIGER 

Evol @ The Kazimier 

Sean Lennon is in town and he’s brought 

somewhat of a psych juggernaut in band THE 

GHOST OF A SABER TOOTH TIGER. There’s a 

healthier crowd in The Kazimier than might be 

expected for the average space rock sextet and 

shouts of “Go on Sean, lad” give it a feeling of 

a homecoming show despite the lead singer’s 

New York/Tokyo/Switzerland upbringing. Lennon 

does acknowledge the links early on, however: “It 

means a lot to play this city – some, if not all, of our 

ancestors are from here,” he notes, after making a 

quip about his band’s rather abstract moniker: “All 

the good names like Linkin Park were taken”. 

It’s clear from the off that the band mean what 

they are doing. Album opener and highlight 

Too Deep kicks off proceedings with Lennon’s 

distorted anglicised drawl burrowing into the 

audience’s minds with the efficiency of LSD. With 

percussion and organ adding to Lennon’s guitar 

and partner Charlotte Muhl’s seductive bass, it’s 

a wonderfully full sound and the crowd, a lot of 

whom may only have a passing interest in psych 

rock, lap up the kaleidoscopic cadences. 

Lennon’s enthusiasm is infectious, dressed like 

an otherworldly sage in long coat and floppy hat 

he is fond of acting out his sometimes slightly 

hackneyed lyrics. After a long career in a number 

of aspects of music including production, film 

scores and forays into the avant-garde, Lennon 

has learnt his craft as a both a songwriter and 

frontman well. Vocal duties are shared with 

Muhl, who is clearly feeling the oppressive 

Kazimier heat but soldiers on, introducing a 

cover of 60s psychers Gandalf, who are clearly 

an influence on a lot of aspects of GOASTT, not 

only sartorially. Golden Earrings is given the 

amped-up Saber Tooth treatment to great effect 

and, after a less than rousing response to Muhl’s 

asking if the crowd are Gandalf fans, it is safe to 

say many will look deeper into the Austrian new 

agers (I know I have). More mainstream if still 

countercultural 60s and 70s bands also figure in 

the GOASTT sound, not least early Pink Floyd and 

that band Sean’s dad was in. 

The majority of tonight’s set comes from 

album Midnight Sun, which was released 

earlier this year to critical praise; however, the 

performance length is notably short – perhaps 

reflecting the band’s limited back catalogue of 

an album, EP and acoustic album. Despite the 

brevity, it’s a well-rounded performance from a 

band with much promise. Well in Sean, lad. 

Your bag? 

Sam Turner / @samturner1984 

Your Bag? 

Catch Hookworms @ The 


BEACONS FESTIVAL 

Heslaker Farm 

Situated on a farm in the picturesque North 

The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger (John Johnson) 

Yorkshire Dales, BEACONS is a festival that has 

steadily gained momentum since it was first 

rolled out in 2010. With the absolute debacle 

that is Leeds Festival not too far away, Beacons 

makes for a more grown-up and less nihilistic 

festival experience than its ugly neighbour. But, 

with one eye firmly fixed on the sky above, due 

to the fallout from Hurricane Bertha, campers 

pitch their tents and hope for the best. 

Opening up the Space Between stage on 

the first day is Manchester-based five-piece 

KULT COUNTRY. Their slow-building, ambient 

meanderings are a relaxing and contemplative 

way to start. As their set begins, the sun is just 

about shining, and a small crowd has gathered 

to sit on the grass and ponderously observe. 

However, as the storm clouds roll in, so do 

the crowd and, by the end of the performance, 

there is a large and fairly sodden audience to 

applaud the band’s efforts. 

In-between acts, there is a delectable range 

of food and drink – from vegetarian Indian food 

to Texas style BBQ ribs – and, though not cheap, 

the usual, outrageous festival prices have for 

the most part been avoided. After a day of filling 

up on food, booze and music, festivalgoers 

make their way to the Loud And Quiet Stage 

(the main stage) to witness near-legendary 

rapper ACTION BRONSON in full swing. 

Always entertaining, Bronson's live shows 

are a one-man spectacle. His recent show at The 

Kazimier was chaotic and brilliant, but tonight 

he seems slightly subdued. Whether this is roadweariness 

or he is just isn't feeling it is hard to 

say, but the set is enjoyable nonetheless and 

has the crowd moving effortlessly. 

On Saturday morning, the hangovers 

are somewhat softened by a spell of nice 

weather. With little time to waste, a blearyeyed 

migration begins to the Noisey Stage for 

what looks like an exciting line-up. JOANNA 

GRUESOME kick-off proceedings with their 

energetic, K-Records-esque brand of melodic, 

garage punk. Sounding like a more popinflected 

Sonic Youth, they blast their way 

through an enthralling set of songs. Sparse 

yet very together, they are well crafted and 

creative, and their performance does away 

with any cobwebs lingering in the audience. 

Next up on the same stage are ethereal 

songsmiths YOUNGHUSBAND, who have been 

going from strength to strength since the 

release of their Nicholas Verhnes-produced 

debut album, Dromes, last year. Their display 

is as impressive as ever and leaves the crowd 

in the perfect mood to venture over to see 

MONEY perform on the main stage. 

Their set begins with a solo, a cappella 

performance from frontman Jamie Lee, 

demonstrating the unique range and quality of 

his voice. Although he looks slightly haggard 

and drunken, Lee's vocals are imbued with 

an almost angelic resonance, and this is the 

standout feature of an excellent show. 

Sunday brings with it probably the most 

promising line-up of the three days and, 

unfortunately, by far the worst weather. Across 

the site many people have lost their tents, and 

the prospect of the covered stage areas is even 

more alluring than usual. 

Those taking shelter at the Noisey Stage 

are greeted by the bizarre and quite amazing 

spectacle that is SLEAFORD MODS. With 

a minimal drum and bass backing track, 

Jason Williamson launches into breathlessly 

aggressive tirades on the state of modern 

Britain. It is easy to see why these upstarts 

describe themselves as punk-hop. With workingclass 

themes and approach, Williamson's lyrics 

are concerned with everyday existence in 

a time of austerity, and he comes across as 

violently poetic. 

With the blood now flowing, people make 

their way to witness another working-class 

hero in action. The weather is now so bad that 

it is difficult to make even the short trip to the 

main stage, but the crowd perseveres, as THE 

FALL are about to take to the stage. Predictably, 

Mark E. Smith is pretty well off his cake, and 

stumbles around the place like a lost soul. 

Rather unexpectedly, however, the show is 

called to a halt due to the increasing strength 

of the wind, and disgruntled fans shuffle back 

over to the Noisey tent to find an antidote. 

As nighttime closes in, beckoning the end 

of the festival, seemingly everyone on the site 

gathers to witness DARKSIDE. It is a fitting 

close to what has been a great weekend. 

Beacons may still be in its infancy, but this is 

what makes it so appealing. Small in size but 

huge in atmosphere and enjoyment, and still 

relatively unstained by corporate involvement, 

it is a festival that will only continue to grow as 

the years go by. 

Alastair Dunn 

bidolito.co.uk

I DESIGN 

BIDO LITO! 

Distribution is what we do... 

 

Magazines 

Posters 

Bido Lito 

! 

0151 708 0166 

bookings@middledistance.org 

www.middledistance.org 

// LUKE-AVERY.COM 

// INFO@LUKE-AVERY.COM 

// 07729 308307 

JOAN ARMATRADING . CHINA CRISIS . GO WEST 

DEAF SCHOOL . RICK VITO . PAUL CARRACK 

MARTIN SIMPSON . RUMOURS OF FLEETWOOD MAC 

ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW & THE LOW RIDERS 

JOE BROWN . GARY MURPHY 

+ OTHER ACTS & WORKSHOPS 

For details of performances contact our box office on 

0151 666 0000 or visit our website www.floralpavilion.com

38 


Reviews 

DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER 

with Dig Vinyl 

Bold Street’s latest wax junkies DIG VINYL know a thing or two about the weird and wonderful 

depths of people’s record collections, and each month they’ll be rifling through their racks and 

picking out four of their favourite in-stock records. Keep digging… 


TOR PEDERS 

BREV FRAN EDERSTORP 

Three years after the band disbanded in the most tragic of 

circumstances, this exceptionally far-out LP has made it to press 

thanks to Fruits De Mer Records’ passion of sharing obscure 

but brilliant music with the world. Taking us on an instrumental 

odyssey of psychedelic surf rock, epic crying guitars and deep, 

dark moments reminiscent of Dark Side-era Pink Floyd, Brev Fran 

Ederstorp is not just one of the best records we’ve heard this year, but a masterpiece that we’re 

sure will become a classic in years to come. This limited press comes on swirling marbled vinyl. 

CACTUS 

CACTUS 

The 1970 debut effort from CACTUS was an early statement of 

all that was to come from the then-new decade. Though far more 

underrated, the record combines shades of contemporary Deep 

Purple and heavy swamp rock blues. Jim McCarty’s searing solos 

scorch their way through each track, and more sympathetically 

slow numbers such as No Need To Worry bring early Cream to 

mind. In a period where West Coast psychedelic funk and blues were tripping through the 

country, Cactus put the East Coast onto the modern musical map. 

NIGHT BEATS 

NIGHT BEATS 

Our friends at Trouble In Mind Records are known for their 

avant-garde, psych prog releases, and this 2011 debut LP is no 

exception. Hailing from Seattle, NIGHT BEATS do more than just 

channel the spirit of the city’s ‘90s grunge forebears, forcing their 

uncompromising kaleidoscope of tightly-tearing guitar and vocal 

echoes through our ears. Whether it’s via an exhausting touring 

schedule or creating in the studio, the three-piece are doing their bit to update the garage rock 

scene for a whole army of new fans. 

JAD FAIR & KRAMER 

ROLL OUT THE BARREL 

The Half Japanese founder’s solo album remains an outsider alt. 

indie classic. Released in 1988 and riding the No Wave movement, 

the record sees JAD FAIR collaborating with downtown NYC 

legends Kramer, and Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic 

Youth, amongst others. Throwing screeches of jazz sax, off-beat 

instrumentalism and off-key vocals into the fusion, this rarity is 

always surprising and, given the right ear, always rewarding. 

Head to bidolito.co.uk now to stream the latest Dig Vinyl Podcast, featuring a mixture of new, 

old and half-forgotten classics. 

ABOVE THE BEATEN 

TRACK FESTIVAL 

The Bluecoat 

Arriving at ABOVE THE BEATEN TRACK FESTIVAL, 

which returns to Liverpool and The Bluecoat after 

a two-year absence, one is greeted by a pleasant, 

intelligent, community atmosphere. Aside from 

the occasional pisshead wandering in from the 

street, the audience of the grassroots event is 

generally composed of three types of people: 

musicians, unfamiliar locals connecting with 

the arts scene, and already initiated scenesters. 

Started in 2008, the festival's return is a welcome 

one, representing as it does the post-2008 aeon 

of trying to live up to the otherwise plummy and 

patronising Capital Of Culture moniker without 

invoking even a whiff of Beatlemania, turning 

complacent hubris into a call to cultural arms. 

It's a broad church, room enough for flyer and 

poster exhibitions, arts and crafts stalls and other 

airy-fairy fun-for-all-the-family malarkey as well as 

bands and DJs. Musically, though, one does well 

not to suffer from folk-pop fatigue. On the Garden 

Stage there’s a carnival of creativity, as the delicate 

widescreen folk of SUNSTACK JONES precedes 

the country pop strains of THOM MORECROFT. 

The Thom Morecroft Band benefit from a pulsing, 

hollow bass foundation, although they get a 

little jingly-jangly country folk for my ears when 

they pick up tempo, and the calls for audience 

participation are cheesy and ostentatious. 

In the Sandon Room, which is hosting 

acoustic acts, it's easy to feel sorry for CHESKIMO 

who is almost being drowned out by ONLY 

CHILD on the Garden Stage. Cheskimo's reserved 

anthropologically-aboriginal freak-folk stylings 

are a funny contrast to the brash Irish-folk 

influenced bravado of Only Child. The latter's 

violin and flute almost make them sound like 

the real deal – though singer-songwriter Alan 

O'Hare should consider dropping the redundant 

trumpet and sugary Americana accent first – while 

Cheskimo's auto-harps and chants about free 

land and astral projection make them a hippier, 

dreamier Vashti Bunyan, if that's possible. 

Cheskimo were followed by one more 

highlight, SOPHIA BEN-YOUSEF, the first of three 

17-year-old prodigies (the others being DOMINIC 

DUNN and NIAMH JONES) showing their skills 

in the Sandon Room before folk-pop singer 

ALEX HULME closed the line-up. The first thing 

to notice about Ben-Yousef is how technically 

impressive her voice is, trained to handle a 

decent classical range. The second is that voice 

also has soul, as she showed with an emotional 

cover of Hold On, We're Going Home by Drake. 

What it doesn't have is grain or texture, but that 

will come with age, as will a growing ability to 

invest emotional content into her technically 

proficient piano songs. 

Once again, and in a month packed with high 

quality local events, Above The Beaten Track 

festival proves a successful showpiece for the 

community. 

Laurence Thompson 

NOZINJA 

Kazimier Garden 

"It's kind of like... remember at school when 

you hit the demo button on the keyboard and 

ramped up the tempo? Yeah, a little like that, but 

amazing." As far as descriptions for NOZINJA go, 

it's about as close as you could get without any 

audible evidence to back up your explanations. 

His 140+ BPM general MIDI jams elude any 

conventional descriptors and, despite the 

stylistic similarities to recent labels like PC Music, 

the original Shangaan Electro King is just that: 

original. After performing one of the standout 

shows at Liverpool Sound City last year, Nozinja 

and his troupe of jesters/dancers return to the 

Kazimier Garden to bring the festive atmosphere. 

Only, this being Wednesday, there doesn't seem 

to be a vast many people in the mood for a party. 

Too far from last weekend and not close enough 

to next, the gig feels like a case of unfortunate 

timing. Compounded by the miserable ‘summer’s 

coming to a close and we didn't even really get 

one’ weather, the pre-show mood is decidedly 

mellow if not bordering on the glum. 

Any suggestions Nozinja and his dancers 

would be taking sympathy on the soporific 

midweek crowd are quickly assuaged from the 

first blisteringly paced track. Shangaan Electro 

is a genre built to test even the most nimble 

footed. A unique genre with a long and colourful 

heritage, this particular mutant strain of South 

Africa’s music tradition is without comparison. 

Thanks to Honest Jon's 2010 compilation, 

helpfully titled Shangaan Electro, the world is 

now exposed to what was previously a uniquely 

local culture. As his star has risen, Nozinja has 

been brought aboard the inimitable roster of 

Warp records, amongst some of the luminaries 

of electronic music. It's easy to understand why. 

Even on this damp, glum night, his fidgety beats 

and exuberant personality gets a significant 

portion of the crowd up and moving before the 

end of the third song. After suitable time to warm 

up, and shedding some self-consciousness, 

members of the crowd are being called up on 

stage for an impromptu dance-off. Though none of 

the audience can quite match the dexterity of the 

dancers on stage, it's not for want of trying. Even 

if there are a few questionable 'shapes' thrown, 

everyone's certainly enjoying themselves. All 

goes to show how far a little bit of dancing can 

go to help shake off the midweek blues. 

Your bag? 

Your Bag? 

Catch John Wizards @ The 


Dave Tate

“We are proud to be 

supplying our unique 

services to Liverpool 

International Festival 

Of Psychedelia 2014”

SATURDAY 4TH OCTOBER ARTS CLUB 

DUKE DUMONT . PSYCHEMAGIK . KIWI . ONEMAN 

T WILLIAMS . BONTAN . SG LEWIS. JOHN MCANDREW 

SATURDAY 11TH OCTOBER SHIPPING FORECAST 

FRIEND WITHIN ALL NIGHT LONG 

SATURDAY 18TH OCTOBER ARTS CLUB 

DUSKY . DANIEL AVERY . LEON VYNEHALL . LORCA . HOLLY LESTER 

THURSDAY 6TH NOVEMBER SHIPPING FORECAST 

FRENCH EXPRESS FEAT . MOON BOOTS . JONAS RATHSMAN & ISAAC TICHAUER 

SATURDAY 15TH NOVEMBER ARTS CLUB 

HANNAH WANTS . BONDAX (DJ SET) . DJ BARELY LEGAL 

BODHI . KARMA KID . MORE TBA 

SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER ARTS CLUB 

SHADOW CHILD . KRY WOLF . MAKES NO SENSE . MORE TBA 

CHIBUKU NYE PARTY 

LINE UP TBA 

VENUES: ARTS CLUB, 90 SEEL ST, LIVERPOOL. THE SHIPPING FORECAST, 15 SLATER STREET, LIVERPOOL. 

YOUSEF PRESENTS... 

THE LEGENDARY HALLOWEEN FANCY DRESS PARTY - 01.11.14 

YOUSEF / JOSEPH CAPRIATI / OLIVER DOLLAR / HEIDI 

KINK - LIVE / LEWIS BOARDMAN / SCOTT LEWIS 

VENUE: EAST VILLAGE ARTS CLUB, 90 SEEL ST, LIVERPOOL. INFO: 0151 706 8045, INFO@CHIBUKU.COM TICKETS ONLINE: WWW.TICKETARENA.CO.UKSKIDDLE.COM, 

TICKETLINE.CO.UK, RESIDENTADVISOR.NET, TICKET STORES: 3B RECORDS (NUS) 0151 353 7027, THE FONT (MT PLEASANT) RESSURECTION (BOLD ST)

Issue 49 / October 2014

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?